Bupropion, a FDA-approved antidepressant and smoking cessation aid, blocks dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake transporters and non-competitively inhibits nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) and serotonin type 3A (5-HT 3 ) receptors. 5-HT 3 receptors are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels that regulate synaptic activity in the central and peripheral nervous system pre-and postsynaptically. In the present study, we examined and compared the effect of bupropion and its active metabolite hydroxybupropion on homomeric 5-HT 3A and heteromeric mouse 5-HT 3AB receptors expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes using two-electrode voltage clamp experiments. Co-application of bupropion or hydroxybupropion with 5-HT dose-dependently inhibited 5-HT-induced currents in 5-HT 3AB Rs (IC 50 = 866 μ M and 505 μ M, respectively) but potentiated 5-HT-induced currents at low (30-50 μ M) concentrations. The corresponding IC 50 s for bupropion and hydroxybupropion with 5-HT 3A R were 10-and 5-fold lower, respectively (87 μ M and 113 μ M), and no potentiation was observed. The inhibition of 5-HT 3A R and 5-HT 3AB R was non-use dependent and voltage-independent, indicating bupropion is not an open channel blocker. The inhibition by bupropion was reversible and time-dependent. Of note, pre-incubation with a low concentration of bupropion that mimics therapeutic drug conditions significantly inhibited 5-HT induced currents in 5-HT 3A and even more so 5-HT 3AB receptors. In summary, our results indicate that bupropion inhibits 5-HT 3AB R, as well as homomeric receptors, and that this inhibition takes place at clinically-relevant concentrations. Inhibition of 5-HT 3 receptors by bupropion may contribute to its desired and/or undesired clinical effects.
Significance Statement5-HT 3AB receptors are found in brain areas involved in mood regulation. Clinical studies indicate that antagonizing these receptors was successful in treating mood and anxiety disorders. Some currently clinically available antidepressants and antipsychotics act as antagonists of 5-HT 3 receptors. Previously, bupropion was shown to be an antagonist at homopentameric 5-HT 3A receptors. The present work provides novel insights into the pharmacological effects bupropion exerts on heteromeric 5-HT 3AB receptors. The results advance the knowledge on the clinical effect of bupropion as an antidepressant. the functional responses observed in native tissues (Davies, 1999; Dubin, 1999; Hussy, 1994; Maricq, 1991). When compared to 5-HT 3A R, 5-HT 3AB R differs in agonist concentration-response curves, shows increased single-channel conductance and desensitization, and an altered current-voltage relationship (Davies, 1999; Dubin, 1999; Kelley, 2003b; Thompson, 2013).The 5-HT 3 R is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and on extraneuronal cells, such as monocytes, chondrocytes, T-cells, and synovial tissue (Fiebich, 2004). In the periphery, 5-HT 3 Rs are found in the autonomic, sensory and enteric nervous systems (Faerber, 2007) where they are involved in...