Antidepressants and protein kinases: inhibition of Ca2+-regulated myosin phosphorylation by fluoxetine and iprindole.

The effects of several antidepressant and antipsychotic agents on Ca2+-calmodulin-regulated myosin light chain phosphorylation were evaluated. At a concentration of 100 microM, the antidepressant agents buproprion, mianserin and maprotiline were ineffective; zimelidine, desipramine and imipramine produced 40-50% inhibition; and iprindole and fluoxetine produced 75-90% inhibition. The efficacies of iprindole and fluoxetine were similar to the phenothiazine antipsychotics chlorpromazine and trifluoperazine. Clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic and the butyrophenone haloperidol were relatively ineffective as myosin light chain phosphorylation inhibitors. IC50 values of the most effective agents were: trifluoperazine 16 microM, fluoxetine 28 microM, chlorpromazine and iprindole 56 microM. As with trifluoperazine, inhibition of myosin phosphorylation by iprindole was completely attenuated in the presence of exogenous calmodulin. However, a significant component (30%) of the inhibitory effect of fluoxetine was not reversible with calmodulin. These results show that some antidepressant agents, most notably iprindole and fluoxetine, are capable of antagonizing a calmodulin-regulated protein kinase through calmodulin inhibition; and in the case of fluoxetine, through an additional calmodulin-independent mechanism.