Abstract
The effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and 5-HT uptake inhibitors on the dissociation of [3H]paroxetine from rat brain membrane binding sites have been investigated. The dissociation induced by 5-HT (100 μM), paroxetine (0.15 μM), clomipramine (1 μM), citalopram (1 μM), imipramine (1 μM), or norzimeldine (1 μM) was consistent with first-order dissociation kinetics with half-life values of dissociation (t1/2) between 130 and 140 min. The dissociation induced by the combination of 5-HT (100 μM) with either citalopram (1 μM) or imipramine (1 μM) was not different from that initiated by either agent alone. These dissociation data, which are at variance with previous data on the 5-HT transporter labeled with [3H]imipramine, support a single-site model of the antidepressant binding/5-HT uptake site.