Binding of organic cations to brush border membrane from rat small intestine

The binding of six organic cations (chlorpromazine, promethazine, imipramine, diphenhydramine, methochlorpromazine and propantheline) to the brush border membrane isolated from rat small intestine has been investigated. The cations were bound to the membrane to varying extents, the order of binding being chlorpromazine greater than promethazine greater than methochlorpromazine greater than imipramine greater than propantheline greater than diphenhydramine. There was no relation between binding and the chloroform-water partition coefficient. Chlorpromazine binding was significantly decreased in the presence of imipramine, methochlorpromazine and propantheline. Anionic compounds (indomethacin and xanthene-9-carboxylic acid) did not affect chlorpromazine binding. High and low affinity binding of the cations to the intestinal brush border membrane was demonstrated with Scatchard plots and Hill plots. Imipramine and methochlorpromazine inhibited chlorpromazine binding at both binding sites. From the results, it was suggested that the organic cations tested were specifically bound to common binding sites on the brush border membrane.