In vivo labeling of delta opioid receptors in mouse brain by [3H]benzylidenenaltrexone, a ligand selective for the delta(1) subtype

(E)-7-Benzylidenenaltrexone (BNTX) is a selective ligand for the putative delta(1) (delta(1)) opioid receptor. To explore the feasibility of labeling delta(1) sites in vivo, we determined the cerebral distribution of radioactivity after systemic administration of [H-3]BNTX to CD1 mice. Uptake was highest in striatum and lowest in cerebellum throughout the 4 hr time course. Specific radioligand binding, approximated as the difference in radioactivity concentrations between striatum and cerebellum, peaked at 0.32 percent injected dose/g at 30 min and comprised a modest 23% of total striatal radioactivity. For seven brain regions, radioactivity concentrations correlated with delta site densities known from prior in vitro studies (r(S) = 0.79, p = 0.03), and also with the uptake of N1'-([11C]methyl)naltrindole in vivo (r(S) = 0.78, p = 0.04) in mice. Specific binding in striatum, olfactory tubercles and cortical regions was saturable by BNTX, and was inhibited stereoselectively by the optical isomers of naloxone. Naltrindole and naltriben (NTB), delta antagonists, blocked 65 - 99% of [H-3]BNTX specific binding at a dosage of 5.0 mu mol/kg, Similar doses of the mu antagonist cyprodime, or the kappa agonist U50,488H, did not inhibit binding. Adjusted for the four-fold greater brain penetration of NTB relative to BNTX, dose-response studies suggested that delta(1) selective BNTX (ED50 = 1.51 mu mol/kg) was 50% more potent than delta(2) selective NTB (ED50 = 0.56 mu mol/kg) in blocking specific [H-3]BNTX binding in striatum. In CXBK mice, a strain with functional delta(1) but not delta(2) receptors in antinociceptive assays, radioligand uptake and distribution proved similar to that in CD1 mice. In sum, [H-3]BNTX labels murine delta opioid receptors in vivo with a low extent of specific binding. The data is consistent with, but not conclusive for, selective labeling of the delta(1) subtype.