Abstract
The selective D3-dopamine receptor agonist 4aR,10bR-(+)-trans-3,4,4a,10b-tetrahydro-4-[N-propyl-2,3-3H]-2H,5H-[1]benzopyrano[4,3-b]-1,4-oxazin-9-ol ([3H]PD 128907) was used to visualise D3-dopamine receptors in whole hemisphere cryosections from post-mortem human brain. [3H]PD 128907 has an 18- to 40-fold selectivity for D3- over D2-dopamine receptors as compared to a 7- to 24-fold selectivity of the more commonly used ligand [3H]7-OH-DPAT. [3H]PD 128907 accumulated markedly in the nucleus accumbens and in the ventral parts of caudate nucleus and putamen, with a slightly heterogeneous (patch-matrix like) distribution. The binding in the lateral parts of caudate nucleus and putamen was much less dense. No binding was obtained in any other regions. A very high proportion of [3H]PD 128907 was specifically bound, as judged from the low binding remaining in the presence of the D2/D3-dopamine receptor antagonist raclopride. This gives the ligand a potential for the detection of low density D3-dopamine receptors in the human brain. The binding obtained with [3H]PD 128907 was qualitatively similar to that using [3H]7-OH-DPAT in the presence of GTP. However, [3H]7-OH-DPAT labelled, in contrast to [3H]PD 128907, also D3-dopamine receptors in neocortex. The new compound [3H]PD 128907 appears to be a suitable radioligand for autoradiographic examination of the D3-dopamine receptor localisation in the human brain, and should also be useful for pharmacological studies of this receptor subtype.
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Received: 20 November 1995/Final version: 2 May 1996
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Hall, H., Halldin, C., Dijkstra, D. et al. Autoradiographic localisation of D3-dopamine receptors in the human brain using the selective D3-dopamine receptor agonist (+)-[3H]PD 128907. Psychopharmacology 128, 240–247 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130050131
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130050131