benzofurans and ethoxyidazoxan

Previous studies using the novel imidazoline1-binding site ligand 1-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)isoquinoline hydrochloride, BU98008, have shown it induces a hypothermic response in rodents following intraperitoneal administration. Radioligand binding data has shown that BU98008 is a highly selective imidazoline1-binding site ligand with 300 fold selectively for the imidazoline1-binding site relative to alpha2-adrenoceptors. However, alpha2-adrenoceptor agonists are known to induce hypothermia, therefore, the present study has investigated the ability of the selective alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, RX811059 (2-ethoxy idazoxan) and the mixed imidazoline1-binding site/alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, efaroxan, to attenuate the BU98008-induced hypothermia. Preliminary experiments confirmed that BU98008 induced a dose-dependent decrease in body temperature in mice at 10 and 20 mg/kg. The response was not affected by pre-treatment with RX811059 but was significantly attenuated following pre-treatment with efaroxan. These data suggest that BU98008-induced hypothermia is mediated by activation of imidazoline1-binding site. Body temperature may therefore provide a novel assay for investigating agonist and antagonist action at the imidazoline1-binding site.

Topics: Animals; Benzofurans; Binding Sites; Body Temperature; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Idazoxan; Imidazoles; Imidazoline Receptors; Isoquinolines; Ligands; Male; Mice; Receptors, Drug