[3H]Sumatriptan binding sites in human brain: regional-dependent labelling of 5-HT1D and 5-HT1F receptors.

The general properties of [3H]sumatriptan binding sites in postmortem human brain tissue sections are described. High concentrations of autoradiographic grains were seen in globus pallidus = substantia nigra > cortex > putamen > hippocampus. While 5-HT (5-hydroxytryptamine) displaced in all regions more than 90% of [3H]sumatriptan binding, the level of binding inhibited by 5-CT (5-carboxamidotryptamine) varied in each region. Although the binding inhibited by 5-CT in some regions such as globus pallidus and substantia nigra was equivalent to that obtained with 5-HT, in cortical areas, such as frontal cortex and hippocampus, a substantial level of binding insensitive to 5-CT was seen. In addition, in membrane binding assays, 10 nM metergoline displaced most [3H]sumatriptan specific binding in striatum and only 16% in frontal cortex. In the human brain sumatriptan binds to at least two 5-HT1 receptors, 5-HT1D and 5-HT1F.