Brain 5-HT1A receptor autoradiography and hypothermic responses in rats bred for differences in 8-OH-DPAT sensitivity

Three rat lines were selectively bred for high (HDS), random (RDS), or low (LDS) hypothermic responses to the specific 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT. Forty-five minutes after 8-OH-DPAT administration (0.5 mg/kg), body temperatures dropped 3-5 degrees C in HDS rats, yet this dose produced only about 1.2 degrees C and 0.7 degree C drops in RDS and LDS rats, respectively. To investigate the relationship of body temperature of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites, autoradiographic analyses of [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding to 5-HT1A receptors in brains of these rats were conducted. Significant differences in binding were found in specific limbic cortical projection sites, with the HDS line having the greatest density of sites. Body temperature responses correlated significantly with [3H]8-OH-DPAT receptor binding in only a few areas of frontal cortex. Binding in many other brain regions, including the anterior and posterior hypothalami (regions long associated with body temperature regulation) and the raphe showed no significant differences among the lines. [3H]Ketanserin binding to cortical 5-HT2 receptors did not differ among the lines, except in the cingulate and superficial frontal cortices where HDS exhibited higher binding. These data suggest that differences in 5-HT1A receptor number may contribute to the exaggerated hypothermic response to 8-OH-DPAT in HDS rats. These studies also suggest that genetic regulation of receptor density may be brain region specific which should encourage future studies of the mechanisms of 5-HT1A receptor activity in brain and the action of drugs affecting this receptor.