Effects of estradiol on the stimulation of dopamine turnover in mesolimbic and nigrostriatal systems by cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide in female rats.

The present studies aimed to determine whether estradiol (E(2)) modulates the stimulation of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide in the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic systems. I.c.v. administration of the CART peptide (55-102, 1 microg/3 microl) increased dopamine turnover (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, DOPAC) in the nucleus accumbens (NA) and striatum (ST) in ovariectomized (OVX) female Sprague-Dawley rats with E(2)-priming. This stimulation of NA and ST DOPAC contents by CART peptide was found in OVX+E(2) female rats, but not in OVX only female rats, suggesting E(2) is an important factor in modulating the stimulatory effect of CART in the regulation of NA and ST DOPAC contents. This stimulation by CART peptide was also restored by treatment with the water-soluble form of E(2), but not by treatment with the membrane-impermeable form of E(2) in OVX female rats, suggesting that E(2) acts through intracellular rather than extracellular mechanisms to modulate the effects of CART peptide. Furthermore, the effects of water-soluble form of E(2) were blocked by E(2) antagonist, tamoxifen, but not by testosterone antagonist, flutamide. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that that E(2) plays a regulatory role in stimulation of CART peptide in mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic systems in female rats, and E(2) acts through its own receptor(s) and intracellular mechanisms.