The effect of (+)- and (-)-oxaprotiline administered repeatedly on the dopamine system

The behavioural and biochemical effects of repeated (14 and 28 days) treatment with (+)-oxaprotiline (a noradrenaline uptake inhibitor) and (-)-oxaprotiline (levoprotiline, without influence on noradrenaline uptake; the clinically active antidepressant) were studied in rats. Both those enantiomers given repeatedly increased the locomotor and exploratory activity and reduced the immobility time in Porsolt's test. The D-amphetamine-induced locomotor hyperactivity, as well as the stereotypies induced by D-amphetamine and apomorphine, were increased by the oxaprotilines. Single-dose treatment with both the oxaprotilines was not effective in the tests mentioned above. Repeated (+)-oxaprotiline administration reduced the binding (Bmax but not KD) to dopamine D-1 receptors in the striatum and limbic system; levoprotiline was inactive. The binding to dopamine D-2 receptors was not changed by either drug. Both the enantiomers showed only low affinity for brain dopamine D-1 and D-2 receptors in vitro. The obtained results indicate that chronic treatment with (+)- and (-)-oxaprotiline increases behavioural responsiveness of the dopamine mesolimbic and striatal systems.