Effect of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine lesion on mianserin-induced conditioned place aversion and on 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C receptors in the rat brain

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The lesion of serotonergic neurons (by an intraventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine) potentiated the conditioned place aversion induced by the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C/5-hydroxytryptamine 2 antagonist mianserin in rats. This effect was selective for mianserin as the same lesion suppressed the conditioned place aversion induced by the benzodiazepine inverse agonist FG-7142. Previous results had shown the involvement of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C receptors in the conditioned place aversion induced by mianserin [Rocha et al. (1993) Behav. Pharmac. 4, 101–106]. It was thus of interest to investigate the effect of the lesion on these receptor binding sites. Autoradiographic binding studies showed that the lesion significantly increased the concentration of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C binding sites in various brain regions, including the amygdala, the hippocampus and the nucleus accumbens. Contrastingly, in these same brain regions, in situ hybridization histochemistry did not reveal an alteration of the level of messanger RNA coding for these receptors. On the one hand, correlating potentiation of the aversive effects of mianserin and increase of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C binding sites in the limbic system represent an interesting step in the comprehension of the molecular and motivational effects of serotonergic drugs. On the other hand, showing a dissociation between the expression of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1C receptors and their corresponding messenger RNA, suggest that post-transcriptional mechanisms are involved in the regulation of these receptors.