Abstract

The anorexigen (+)-fenfluramine was used for treatment of obesity until the association of use with valvular heart disease and primary pulmonary hypertension. (+)-Fenfluramine has been found in Chinese and Korean slimming pills. The hepatic metabolite of (+)-fenfluramine, (+)-norfenfluramine, has affinity for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)_2A and 5-HT_2B receptors. We tested the hypothesis that (+)-norfenfluramine contracts arterial smooth muscle in a 5-HT receptor-dependent manner and acts as a pressor in the conscious rat. Isometric contraction experiments showed that (+)-norfenfluramine (10 nM, 100 μM) but not (+)-fenfluramine nor the isomer (-)-norfenfluramine caused concentration-dependent contraction in arteries [-log EC₅₀ (moles per liter), thoracic aorta = 5.77 ± 0.09; renal artery = 6.29 ± 0.02; mesenteric resistance artery = 5.70 ± 0.06]. Contraction was dependent on the 5-HT_2A receptor because ketanserin (10 nM) rightward shifted (+)-norfenfluramine response curves (aorta = 16-fold, renal artery = 26-fold, and resistance artery = >100-fold). Dependence on activation of 5-HT_2A receptors and independence of (+)-norfenfluramine-induced contraction from stimulation of α-adrenergic receptors and the sympathetic nervous system was validated by demonstrating 1) unchanged contraction to (+)-norfenfluramine in arteries from chemically denervated rats; 2) a minimal effect of the α₁-adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin (100 nM) on contraction; and 3) antagonism by [6-methyl-l-(1-methylethy)ergoline-8β-carboxylic acid 2-hydroxy-1 methylpropyl ester maleate] LY53857 [6-methyl-1-(1-methylethy)-ergoline-8β-carboxylic acid 2-hydroxy-1 methylpropyl ester maleate], a 5-HT₂ receptor antagonist without α-receptor affinity. (+)-Norfenfluramine (10-300 μg/kg i.v.) caused a dose-dependent increase in mean arterial blood pressure in conscious rats, the maximum of which could be virtually abolished by ketanserin (3 mg/kg i.v.) but not prazosin (0.2 mg/kg i.v.). Our findings demonstrate for the first time that (+)-norfenfluramine is vasoactive and has the potential to increase blood pressure.