Tricyclic antidepressive drugs and dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase from rat brain striatum.

Tricyclic antidepressant drugs were examined as inhibitors of dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase in a cell-free homogenate of rat brain striatum. Amitriptyline (Ki 0.17 muM) and doxepin (Ki 0.24 muM) were found to be potent inhibitors of dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase, chlorimipramine (Ki 0.59 muM) and nortriptyline (Ki 0.50 muM) were moderate inhibitors and imipramine, desmethylimipramine, protriptyline and melitracene were weak inhibitors with Ki values higher than 1 muM.