Imipramine does not act as a false transmitter in the rat hypothalamus.
[3H]Imipramine was accumulated by rat hypothalamic slices mostly by a passive low-affinity process. Accumulated [3H]imipramine was released by 60 mM potassium, but the release was small and was not Ca2+-dependent. Imipramine induced some release of [3H]norepinephrine. None of these events were abolished by pretreatment of the rats with reserpine. These results do not favor the view that imipramine acts as a false transmitter in the rat hypothalamus. Rather, imipramine appears to be accumulated in an extragranular pool from which it releases extragranular norepinephrine.
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007099:Imipramine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012110:Reserpine / Q000494:pharmacology
D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D012110:Reserpine; D007099:Imipramine; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium; D009638:Norepinephrine