[(3)H]-F13640, a novel, selective and high-efficacy serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist radioligand.

F13640 is a selective and high-efficacy serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist that demonstrates outstanding analgesic potential in different animal models. Here, we use the radiolabelled compound to further characterise its binding properties at 5-HT(1A) receptors. F13640 was tritium-labelled to 47 and 64 Ci/mmol specific activity and used as radioligand at membrane preparations of CHO cells expressing human (h) 5-HT(1A) receptors. The K (d) of [(3)H]-F13640 was 1.8 nM at h5-HT(1A) receptors as determined from saturation binding experiments. In association time-course experiments, k (obs) of [(3)H]-F13640 was 0.06 min(-1). Dissociation experiments performed in the presence of unlabelled F13640 as competing ligand yielded a k (off) value of 0.05 min(-1), resulting in a calculated K (d) of 1.4 nM. In comparison, [(3)H]-8-OH-DPAT had a k (obs) of 0.50 min(-1), a k (off) of 0.25 min(-1) and a calculated K (d) of 0.37 nM. Surprisingly, [(3)H]-F13640 dissociation kinetics were distinctly slower in the presence of WAY-100635 and spiperone as competing ligands when compared with the agonist competitors, F13640 and (+)8-OH-DPAT. The competitive binding profile of [(3)H]-F13640 with eight chemically diverse 5-HT(1A) receptor agonists and antagonists correlated highly (r = 0.996) with that of [(3)H]-8-OH-DPAT. In conclusion, [(3)H]-F13640 is a potent agonist radioligand at 5-HT(1A) receptors and may be a useful tool in pharmacological studies at native and recombinant 5-HT(1A) receptors. In addition, [(3)H]-F13640 dissociates more slowly from h5-HT(1A) receptors than [(3)H]-8-OH-DPAT, a kinetic property that might be related to its powerful analgesic effects as observed in vivo.