Serotonergic involvement in haloperidol-induced catalepsy.
The ability of serotonin (5-HT)-selective compounds to reverse catalepsy due to blockade of dopamine (DA) receptors was examined in rats treated with the antipsychotic haloperidol (HAL). The 5-HT-releasing drug fenfluramine significantly reversed HAL-induced catalepsy. The 5-HT1A receptor agonists 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin and buspirone potently and dose-dependently reversed HAL-induced catalepsy. The effect of 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin was blocked by pretreatment with the 5-HT1A/1B receptor antagonist pindolol, but not the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist ketanserin. The 5-HT1C/2 receptor agonist 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine also completely reversed HAL-induced catalepsy, an effect blocked by ketanserin, but not pindolol. Neither antagonist alone had any effect. The 5-HT1B/1C receptor agonist trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine only partially reversed HAL-induced catalepsy, and the effect was not dose dependent. The 5-HT1C/2 receptor antagonist mianserin reversed HAL-induced catalepsy on its own; therefore, its ability to block the effect of trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine could not be tested. The nature of the disruption of HAL-induced catalepsy was examined by measuring the ability of increasing doses of HAL to surmount the effects of the serotonergic agonists. The mixed DA-D1/D2 receptor agonist apomorphine shifted the dose-effect curve for HAL to the right in a parallel manner, indicative of a competitive interaction between HAL and apomorphine at the D2 receptor. In contrast, the 5-HT receptor agonists flattened the dose-effect curve for HAL, suggestive of noncompetitive interactions. These data suggest that the 5-HT receptor agonists are not reversing HAL-induced catalepsy by indirectly increasing DA release. Rather, the agonists reverse HAL-induced catalepsy through interactions at their specific 5-HT receptor subtypes. Thus, the 5-HT receptor agonists may provide novel approaches for the development of drugs which can reverse or prevent the extrapyramidal side effects associated with antipsychotic treatment.
Neal-Beliveau
B S
BS
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Joyce
J N
JN
Lucki
I
I
D000818:Animals; D002375:Catalepsy / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000187:drug effects*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D012701:Serotonin; D006220:Haloperidol