Abstract

Structure-activity relationships of cocaine congeners were determined in inhibiting reserpine-sensitive, Mg++/ATP-dependent uptake of [3H]dopamine into rat brain synaptic vesicles under initial velocity conditions. The C2 carbomethoxy group could be deleted without loss of activity, whereas movement of this group from axial to equatorial orientation increased the potency. There was no need for the ester linkage between the tropane and phenyl rings, nor was there need for the ethylene bridge between C1 and C5 that makes cocaine a tropane instead of a piperidine structure. The structure-activity relationships were different from those for inhibiting neuronal amine transport or blocking voltage-dependent sodium channels. There was no correlation between block of uptake and degree of lipophilicity. The equally lipophilic compounds cocaine and pseudococaine, and WIN 35,065-3 and WIN 35,140, differed in uptake-blocking potency by an order of magnitude (137 vs. 22 microM and 65 vs. 4 microM, respectively). In bovine chromaffin granules, used as a less complex model system for the vesicular uptake system, the rank order of d-amphetamine, cocaine and pseudococaine in perturbing the proton gradient and in changing the membrane potential was different from that in inhibiting uptake. The inhibition of uptake is discussed in terms of the compounds acting as weak bases, transporter substrates or transporter blockers.