Tricyclic antidepressants comparative pharmacology

The stimulation of the octopaminergic nervous system of invertebrates is a proven strategy for the control of important pest species. This has been achieved in the past by the use of octopamine receptor agonists such as formamidine and imidazoline derivatives. However, other potential strategies to achieve this end include the inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase, inhibition of the neural reuptake of octopamine, and inhibition of octopamine N-acetyltransferase. Using the American cockroach nervous system, formamidines were found to inhibit both the uptake and acetylation of octopamine, but not with a potency comparable to their effect on octopamine receptors. The tricyclic antidepressant, desipramine, and the benzylamine, xylamine, were the most active inhibitors of these octopamine removal systems. The pharmacological profiles for uptake and N-acetylation appear to be quite similar, but differ from that of the adenylate cyclase-linked octopamine receptor. 

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