Inhibition of dorsal raphe cell firing by MDL 73005EF, a novel 5-HT1A receptor ligand.

The effect of a novel ligand for the 5-HT1A receptor subtype, MDL 73005EF, on the firing rate of serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons was assessed in rat midbrain slices maintained in vitro. Superfusion with MDL 73005EF inhibited neuronal firing in a concentration-dependent manner. Based upon IC50 values, MDL 73005EF was equipotent with buspirone (129 +/- 34 vs. 97 +/- 8 nM, respectively) but significantly less potent than 8-OH-DPAT (8-hydroxy-2(di-n-propylamino)tetralin; 7 +/- 2 nM). Pretreatment with (-)-propranolol (1 microM), a mixed 5-HT1A/B receptor antagonist, blocked by 50% the inhibition of unit activity elicited by MDL 73005EF. Taken together, these data suggest that MDL 73005EF is an agonist at the somatodendritic autoreceptor on dorsal raphe neurons, a 5-HT1A receptor which regulates in part the pacemaker activity of these cells. The results are discussed in the context of receptor reserve, recently proposed to explain apparent discrepancies in the actions of agonists at pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT1A sites.