Postsynaptic action by four antidepressive drugs in an animal model of depression

To further test the new hypersensitive postsynaptic serotonin (5-HT) receptor theory of depression based on our animal model, it was necessary to demonstrate that some of the currently used antidepressive drugs can block D,L-5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) induced depression acting through postsynaptic rather than presynaptic mechanisms. Rats working for milk reinforcement and exhibiting behavioral depression following administration of 5-HTP (IP) were pretreated (1 hour before the 5-HTP injection) with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg IP) or methysergide (5 mg/kg IP) to establish a behavioral basis for distinguishing between pre- and postsynaptic events, respectively. Fluoxetine, a known specific uptake blocker of 5-HT, potentiated the depressive effect of 12.5 mg/kg 5-HTP by 200%. Methysergide, a postsynaptic blocker of 5-HT, almost completely (93%) abolished the depressive effect of 50 mg/kg 5-HTP. Since acute pretreatment with comparable clinical doses of the antidepressive drugs, mianserin, amitriptyline, imipramine, or iprindole, resulted in blockade of the 5-HTP induced depression by 70, 50, 40, and 20% respectively, these drugs can act as antagonists of 5-HT at the postsynaptic serotonin receptor. When these results are viewed in terms of recent data reported from CNS binding studies, the therapeutic effects of some antidepressants may be explained by their postsynaptic rather than presynaptic effects at central serotonergic receptors.