1. Previous experiments have suggested a potential atypical
antipsychotic activity of the
ergoline derivative
LEK-8829. In vitro experiments showed a high affinity to 5-HT1A, 5-HT2 and D2 receptors (the ratio of pKi values 5-HT2/D2 = 1.11) and a moderate affinity to D1 receptors. In vivo experiments showed antagonism of
dopamine and
5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor-linked behaviours. 2. In the present study, the rats with unilateral dopaminergic deafferentation of the striatum, induced by the lesion of the median forebrain bundle with
6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), were used to determine the effects of
LEK-8829 on turning behaviour and on striatal c-fos
mRNA levels. 3. The administration of
LEK-8829 induced a long lasting contralateral turning behaviour that was dose-dependent. It was found that the specific D1 receptor antagonist
SCH-23390 but not the D2 receptor antagonist
haloperidol or
5-HT1A antagonist pindolol, dose-dependently inhibited the turning behaviour induced by
LEK-8829. 4. In an attempt to clarify the D1:D2 receptor interactions involved in the action of
LEK-8829 in the 6OHDA model, we used in situ hybridization histochemistry to compare the effect of
SCH-23390 pretreatment on striatal c-fos
mRNA expression induced either by
LEK-8829 or by the typical
antipsychotic haloperidol. 5.
LEK-8829 induced a bilateral striatal c-fos
mRNA expression that was significantly higher in the denervated striatum as compared to the intact striatum and was completely blocked on both sides by pretreatment with
SCH-23390. In contrast,
haloperidol-induced striatal c-fos
mRNA expression was limited to the innervated striatum and was not blocked by
SCH-23390. 6. Our data demonstrate an intrinsic activity of
LEK-8829 on D1 receptors that is potentiated in the
dopamine-depleted striatum. We conclude, therefore, that the putative atypical
antipsychotic LEK-8829 may prove useful as an experimental tool for the study of D1:D2 receptor interactions and could have beneficial effects in the treatment of
drug-induced
psychosis in patients with
Parkinson's disease.