The probable involvement of dopamine in the regulation of water excretion was investigated by administering dopamine antagonists intravenously to barbiturate--anaesthetized rats undergoing a water diuresis induced by the infusion of 0.83% glucose with 0.3% NaCl at the rate of 9 ml h-1. 2. Administration of 100 micrograms of the D1-/D2-dopamine antagonist, haloperidol, reduced the enhanced urine flow of rats infused with the hypotonic solution by 69% (from 75.4 +/- 13.0 to 23.6 +/- 6.0 microliter min-1, P less than 0.01). Similarly, the D1-receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, reduced urine flow by 58% (from 77.5 +/- 9.2 to 32.7 +/- 7.2 microliters min-1, P less than 0.01) and the D2-receptor antagonist, sulpiride, by 47% (from 66.2 +/- 8.6 to 35.1 +/- 6.8 microliter min-1, P less than 0.05). 3. The injection of SCH 23390 increased the urine osmolality from 189.6 +/- 27.5 to 479.8 +/- 45.8 mosm kg-1 (P less than 0.05). There was no significant change in sodium and potassium excretion in any of the experiments. Blood pressure (BP) decreased after haloperidol and SCH 23390 injection from control values of 121.7 +/- 1.7 and 116.5 +/- 7.4 to 113.3 +/- 3.3 and 106.0 +/- 8.8 mmHg respectively (P less than 0.05). 4. To study whether the influence of dopamine antagonists on urine flow during water diuresis depends on antidiuretic hormone (ADH), we administered 0.6 micrograms d(CH2)5-D-Phe-Ile-AVP (an ADH antagonist) shortly after the injection of 100 micrograms SCH 23390. The preferential V2 ADH-antagonist abolished the antidiuretic effect of SCH 23390 but did not affect its blood pressure reducing effect (from 118.6 +/- 5.6 to 103.2 +/- 4.6 mmHg, P <0.01). 5. These results suggest that dopamine antagonists blunted the hypotonic saline-induced diuresis by favouring ADH release through an interference with an inhibitory dopaminergic pathway.
