The depolarizing action of 5-hydroxytryptamine on rabbit vagal primary afferent and sympathetic neurones and its selective blockade by MDL 72222.

MDL 72222 (1 alpha H,3 alpha,5 alpha H-tropan-3-yl-3,5-dichlorobenzoate) is a novel compound with potent and selective blocking actions at certain excitatory 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptors on mammalian peripheral neurones. In the present study, the sucrose-gap technique has been used to record depolarizing responses to 5-HT from the cells of the rabbit nodose and superior cervical ganglia and to investigate the potency and selectivity of MDL 72222 as an antagonist of these responses. On nodose ganglia, responses to 5-HT were inhibited surmountably by MDL 72222 at concentrations up to 100 nmol/l. The threshold for antagonism was 2-10 nmol/l and the apparent pA2 value (Schild 1947) was 7.7 +/- 0.2, n = 10. Blockade was selective since responses to GABA and noradrenaline were unaffected by MDL 72222, 100 nmol/l. With concentrations of MDL 72222 higher than 100 nmol/l, antagonism was concentration-related but not in a manner consistent with simple competitive antagonism and even a concentration of 1 mumol/l failed to abolish the response to 5-HT. The results from the superior cervical ganglion were essentially similar to those obtained from the nodose ganglion. The threshold concentration of MDL 72222 for inhibition of 5-HT was 1-10 nmol/l and blockade was selective in that depolarizing responses to dimethylphenyl-piperazinium (DMPP) was unaffected by a concentration of MDL 72222 of 1 mumol/l. The data provide direct evidence that MDL 72222 is a potent and selective antagonist of the receptors for 5-HT which mediate depolarizing responses in vagal primary afferent cell bodies and in sympathetic ganglion cells.