Forskolin-stimulated Adenylate Cyclase Activity in Rat Cerebral Cortex Following Chronic Treatment with Psychotropic Drugs

Abstract

Rats were treated with lithium, imipramine, reserpine, and lithium combined with imipramine or reserpine. Lithium was given in the diet (40 mmol/kg) resulting in a serum-Li⁺ level of 0.5–0.6 mmol/1. Other drugs were dissolved in 0.9% saline and given intraperitoneally once or twice daily. After 3 weeks of treatment, forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was measured in cerebral cortex homogenates. Reserpine did not affect the forskolin stimulation, while both imipramine and lithium caused a decrease in this activity. The combined treatments lithium-imipramine and lithium-reserpine also exhibited a clear decrease in forskolin stimulation, but the effect of concomitant lithium and imipramine treatment did not differ from the effect seen after any of the treatments alone. The unstimulated activity was unaltered by all treatments. The inhibition of lithium and imipramine on the forskolin stimulation indicates an interference of these two drugs with the forskolin-mediated activation of the adenylate cyclase.