Tandospirone and its metabolite, 1-(2-pyrimidinyl)-piperazine--II. Effects of acute administration of 1-PP and long-term administration of tandospirone on noradrenergic neurotransmission.
1-(2-Pyrimidinyl)-piperazine (1-PP) is a common metabolite of the antidepressant/anxiolytic 5-HT1A agonists, tandospirone (SM-3997), gepirone, buspirone and ipsapirone. The present electrophysiological studies were undertaken to characterize in vivo the effect of 1-PP on noradrenergic (NE) neurotransmission in rat brain. At small doses, 1-PP (ED50 = 80 micrograms/kg, i.v.) reversed the depressant effect of the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine (20 micrograms/kg, i.v.) on the firing activity of NE neurones of the locus coeruleus. After long-term treatment with tandospirone (10 mg/kg/day, s.c. x 14 days), the responsiveness of these NE neurones to intravenous administration of clonidine was decreased but their mean firing frequency remained within the control range. The effect of 1-PP on the postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptor of pyramidal neurones in the hippocampus was investigated: intravenous administration of 1-PP (2-8 mg/kg, i.v.) reduced the effect of microiontophoretically-applied NE on CA3 pyramidal neurones of the dorsal hippocampus, without affecting their responsiveness to GABA and 5-HT. The effect of the electrical stimulation of NE neurones of the locus coeruleus in reducing firing activity of pyramidal neurones, which is mediated by postsynaptic alpha 1-adrenoceptors, was increased by 47% after acute administration of 1-PP (4 mg/kg, i.v.), presumably as a result of blockade of terminal alpha 2-autoreceptors. The effectiveness of these stimulations remained unchanged after long-term treatment with tandospirone. Furthermore, the decrease in the effectiveness of stimulation of the locus coeruleus, obtained by increasing the frequency from 1 to 5 Hz, a phenomenon due to an increased activation of terminal alpha 2-adrenergic autoreceptors by endogenous NE, remained unaltered after long-term treatment with tandospirone. In addition to the initial depressant effect, stimulation of the locus coeruleus induces a late activation of these neurones which is mediated by a beta-adrenoceptor. The degree of activation induced by stimulation of the locus coeruleus was similar in controls and in long-term tandospirone-treated rats. It is concluded that 1-PP acts as an antagonist at somatodendritic and terminal alpha 2-adrenergic autoreceptors, as well as at postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors, in the central nervous system of the rat. However, the levels of 1-PP attained after long-term administration of tandospirone were not sufficient to modify NE neurotransmission.
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
P
P
Blier
O
O
Curet
Y
Y
Chaput
C
C
de Montigny
D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002065:Buspirone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003000:Clonidine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D054833:Isoindoles; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha / Q000187:drug effects*
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D054833:Isoindoles; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha; C055267:tandospirone; C037921:1-(2-pyrimidinyl)piperazine; D003000:Clonidine; D002065:Buspirone; D009638:Norepinephrine