Abstract
Rationale
Indirect-acting serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists (e.g., selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors [SSRI]) stimulate multiple 5-HT receptors, although the role of particular receptors as well as interaction(s) among different receptors in the therapeutic effects of SSRIs is not fully understood.
Objectives
Relatively few studies have systematically examined direct-acting agonists in combination. This study examined the 5-HT1A receptor agonists 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin hydrochloride (8-OH-DPAT; 0.01–10.0 mg/kg) and 3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl-4-fluoro-4-([(5-methyl-6-methylamino-pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-methyl)-piperidin-1-yl-methanone (F13714; 0.01–1.0 mg/kg) and the 5-HT2A receptor agonists 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM; 0.32–10.0 mg/kg) and dipropyltryptamine (DPT; 1.0–32.0 mg/kg), alone and in combination, in rats responding under a fixed ratio schedule of food presentation.
Results
When administered alone, each drug decreased the rate of responding in a dose-related manner with the potency order being F13714 > 8-OH-DPAT > DOM > DPT. WAY100635 (5-HT1A receptor antagonist; 0.01–0.1 mg/kg) attenuated the rate-decreasing effects of 8-OH-DPAT and F13714 while MDL100907 (5-HT2A receptor antagonist; 0.01–0.1 mg/kg) attenuated the rate-decreasing effects of DOM and DPT. Dose addition analysis showed that the interaction between 8-OH-DPAT and F13714, as well as the interaction between DOM and DPT, was additive. In contrast, the interaction between 8-OH-DPAT and DOM, as well as the interaction between F13714 and DOM, was infra-additive.
Conclusions
This study shows that for some dose combinations, agonist actions at one 5-HT receptor subtype attenuate agonist actions at another 5-HT receptor subtype; thus, the combined neuropharmacological actions and therapeutic effects of indirect-acting agonists are not likely to be adequately characterized by examining in isolation activity at particular 5-HT receptor subtypes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnt J, Hyttel J (1989) Facilitation of 8-OH-DPAT-induced forepaw treading of rats by the 5-HT2 agonist DOI. Eur J Pharmacol 161:45–51
Arunlakshana O, Schild HO (1959) Some quantitative uses of drug antagonists. Br J Pharmacol Chemother 14:48–58
Carter LP, Flores LR, Wu H, Chen W, Unzeitig AW, Coop A, France CP (2003) The role of GABAB receptors in the discriminative stimulus effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in rats: time course and antagonism studies. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 305:668–674
Celada P, Puig M, Amargós-Bosch M, Adell A, Artigas F (2004) The therapeutic role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in depression. J Psychiatry Neurosci 29:252–265
Darmani NA, Martin BR, Pandey U, Glennon RA (1989) Do functional relationships exist between 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors? Pharmacol Biochem Behav 36:901–906
Eckler JR, Reissig CJ, Rabin RA, Winter JC (2004) A 5-HT(2 C) receptor-mediated interaction between 2, 5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine and citalopram in the rat. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 79:25–30
Fiorella D, Rabin RA, Winter JC (1995) The role of the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors in the stimulus effects of hallucinogenic drugs: I. Antagonist correlation analysis. Psychopharmacology 121:347–356
Green AR, O’Shaughnessy K, Hammond M, Schachter M, Grahame-Smith DG (1983) Inhibition of 5-hydroxytryptamine-mediated behaviour by the putative 5-HT2 antagonist pirenperone. Neuropharmacology 22:573–578
Hedlund PB, Kelly L, Mazur C, Lovenberg T, Sutcliffe JG, Bonaventure P (2004) 8-OH-DPAT acts on both 5-HT1A and 5-HT7 receptors to induce hypothermia in rodents. Eur J Pharmacol 487:125–132
Khorana N, Young R, Glennon RA (2009) Effect of 8-hydroxy-2-(N, N-di-n-propylamino) tetralin and MDMA on the discriminative stimulus effects of the classical hallucinogen DOM in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 91:385–392
Koek W, Assie M, Zernig G, France CP (2000) In vivo estimates of efficacy at 5-HT1A receptors: effects of EEDQ on the ability of agonists to produce lower lip retraction in rats. Psychopharmacology 149:377–387
Koek W, Vacher B, Cosi C, Assié MB, Patoiseau JF, Pauwels PJ, Colpaert FC (2001) 5-HT1A receptor activation and antidepressant-like effects: F 13714 has high efficacy and marked antidepressant potential. Eur J Pharmacol 420:103–112
Krebs-Thomson K, Geyer MA (1998) Evidence for a functional interaction between 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in rats. Psychopharmacology 140:69–74
Li Q, Rittenhouse PA, Levy AD, Alvarez Sanz MC, Van de Kar LD (1992) Neuroendocrine responses to the serotonin 2 agonist DOI are differentially modified by three 5-HT1A agonists. Neuropharmacology 31:983–989
Li J-X, Rice KC, France CP (2009) Discriminative stimulus effects of 1-(2, 5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane in rhesus monkeys: antagonism and apparent pA2 analyses. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 328:976–981
Li J-X, Koek W, Rice KC, France CP (2010) Differential effects of 5-HT1A receptor agonists on the discriminative stimulus effects of the 5-HT2A receptor agonist 1-(2, 5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane in rats and rhesus monkeys. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 333:244–252
Marek GJ, Martin-Ruiz R, Abo A, Artigas F (2005) The selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 enhances antidepressant-like behavioral effects of the SSRI fluoxetine. Neuropsychopharmacology 30:2205–2215
Reissig CJ, Eckler JR, Rabin RA, Winter JC (2005) The 5-HT1A receptor and the stimulus effects of LSD in the rat. Psychopharmacology 182:197–204
Stevenson GW, Folk JE, Rice KC, Negus SS (2005) Interactions between delta and mu opioid agonists in assays of schedule-controlled responding, thermal nociception, drug self-administration, and drug versus food choice in rhesus monkeys: studies with SNC80 and heroin. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 314:221–231
Tallarida RJ (2000) Drug synergism and dose-effect data analysis. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton
Ullrich T, Rice KC (2000) A practical synthesis of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist MDL 100907, its enantiomer and their 3-phenolic derivatives as precursors for 11C labeled PET ligands. Bioorg Med Chem 8:2427–2432
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Christopher Cruz, Sonia Cano, Margarita Gardea, and Jennifer Kite for excellent technical assistance.
CPF is supported by a Senior Scientist Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (K05 DA17918). This research was supported, in part, by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.
Conflict of interest
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, JX., Crocker, C., Koek, W. et al. Effects of serotonin (5-HT)1A and 5-HT2A receptor agonists on schedule-controlled responding in rats: drug combination studies. Psychopharmacology 213, 489–497 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-2136-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-2136-9