title: Combined alpha2 and D2/3 receptor blockade enhances cortical glutamatergic transmission and reverses cognitive impairment in the rat.
abstract: The alpha(2) adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan enhances antipsychotic efficacy of classical dopamine D(2) antagonists in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The mechanisms are not fully understood, but we have previously shown that the combination of idazoxan with the D(2/3) receptor antagonist raclopride, similarly to clozapine but not classical antipsychotic drugs, augments dopamine efflux in the prefrontal cortex, and also generates an enhanced suppression of the conditioned avoidance response. We have now investigated the effects of clozapine, raclopride, idazoxan and the combination of raclopride and idazoxan on (i) electrically evoked excitatory post-synaptic potentials and currents in pyramidal cells of the rat medial prefrontal cortex, using intracellular electrophysiological recording in vitro, (ii) the impaired cognitive function induced by the selective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK-801, using the 8-arm radial maze test, (iii) the in-vivo D2, alpha(2A) and alpha(2C) receptor occupancies of these pharmacological treatments, using ex-vivo autoradiography. Whereas neither idazoxan nor raclopride alone had any effect, the combination exerted the same facilitation of glutamatergic transmission in rat prefrontal pyramidal neurons as clozapine, and this effect was found to be mediated by dopamine acting at D(1) receptors. Similarly to clozapine, the combination of idazoxan and raclopride also completely reversed the working-memory impairment in rats induced by MK-801. Moreover, these effects of the two treatment regimes were obtained at similar occupancies at D(2), alpha(2A) and alpha(2C) receptors respectively. Our results provide novel neurobiological and behavioural support for a pro-cognitive effect of adjunctive use of idazoxan with antipsychotic drugs that lack appreciable alpha(2) adrenoceptor-blocking properties, and define presynaptic alpha(2) adrenoceptors as major targets in antipsychotic drug development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Section for Neuropsychopharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Monica M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: Kent E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Jardemark
authors.forename: Marie-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wadenberg
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Langlois
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hertel
authors.forename: Torgny H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Svensson
mesh_terms: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D003024:Clozapine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D019329:Idazoxan / Q000627:therapeutic use; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D020891:Raclopride / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011869:Radioligand Assay / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D020891:Raclopride; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D003024:Clozapine; D019329:Idazoxan