Up-regulation of β-adrenoreceptors by drugs which cause depression

A number of drugs associated with depressive episodes in man were investigated for their effects on rat cortical β-adrenoceptors, in view of the down-regulation of β-adrenoceptors caused by chronic administration of anti-depressant drugs. Scatchard analyses of [3H]dihydro-alprenolol binding data provided Bmax and KD values for the cortical β-adrenoceptors. Up-regulation of the receptors occurred after daily injections of phenobarbitone for seven days (by 55%), pentobarbitone (by 143%), reserpine (by 82%) and propranolol (by 64%). β-adrenoceptors were not affected by daily injections of clonidine, chlorpromazine and flupenthixol for seven days. This work confirms the up-regulatory effect on β-adrenoceptors of certain drugs which produce depressions in man