Dopamine D1 receptors labelled with [3H]SCH23390 in rabbit cerebral cortex and neostriatum. Equilibrium binding, kinetics and selectivity.

The binding characteristics of the novel benzazepine compound SCH23390 were studied using membrane preparations from rabbit cerebral cortex (CTX) and neostriatum (CPU; caudate putamen). The association kinetics of [3H]SCH23390 to membranes from CTX and CPU were rapid, while the dissociation kinetics were extremely slow and only around 40–60% of the binding was displaced two hours after the addition of either S(+)-butaclamol or 30 volumes of buffer. The saturation curves revealed that [3HISCH23390 bound with high affinity in both tissues, with densities of 133 fmol/mg protein for CTX (Kd 25°C = 0.31 nM) and 664 fmol/mg protein for CPU (Kd = 0.13 nM). The specificity of binding to the cortical D1 receptor was verified in competition experiments with a variety of dopaminergic agents. The rank order of potency of these compounds was consistent with the pharmacology of the dopaminergic D1 site. All competition curves were better fitted to a one-site model with Hill coefficients around one, indicating that [3H]SCH23390 was binding to a single cortical site. The stereoselectivity of the cortical [3H]SCH23390 binding site could be demonstrated by the use of enantiomer pairs of dopaminergic drugs. This study provides compelling evidence that [3H]SCH23390 binds to dopamine D1 receptors in the neostriatum and cerebral cortex of the rabbit.