Do tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the ventrolateral arcuate nucleus produce dopamine or only L-dopa?

Dopamine (DA) was early demonstrated in the arcuate nucleus by means of the formaldehyde-induced histofluorescence method. In the present study we have investigated the distribution of cell bodies in the arcuate nucleus with antisera against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) and DA. The results indicate that TH-immunoreactive cells in the dorsomedial part of the arcuate nucleus also contain immunoreactivity for both AADC and DA. However, TH-positive cells in the ventrolateral arcuate nucleus lacked AADC- and DA-immunoreactivity with the sensitivity of the present methods. The findings raise the question whether the ventrolateral cells synthesize L-DOPA or DA as endproducts.