Dopamine-releasing action of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) in the neostriatum of the rat as demonstrated in vivo by the push-pull perfusion technique: dependence on sodium but not calcium ions.

This study examined the effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and its metabolite, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) on the levels of dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in push-pull perfusates of the striatum in chloral hydrate-anaesthetized rats. In control animals the levels of DA and DOPAC remained stable for at least 6 h and responded rapidly to a depolarizing stimulus of 25 mM K+. This K+-induced DA release was Ca2+-dependent since no stimulation was observed when the striatal sites were perfused with high K+ in a Ca2+-free medium containing 2 mM EGTA thus verifying that the striatal sites were functionally active. MPTP (0.025 and 0.05 microgram/microliter) stimulated DA release and inhibited DOPAC output in a dose-related manner. MPP+ (0.01, 0.025 and 0.05 microgram/microliter) produced a more robust dose-dependent increase in DA levels in the perfusates; however, the level of suppression of DOPAC was similar to that in response to MPTP. The effect of MPP+ on DA release was attenuated by 10(-6) M benztropine, the DA re-uptake blocker and completely inhibited by 10 micrograms/kg i.p. benztropine and 10(-4) M ouabain, the Na+, K+-ATPase (Na pump) inhibitor. However, although these substances prevented the MPP+-induced release of DA, the levels of DOPAC in the perfusates did not recover and remained completely suppressed suggesting that MPP+ may inhibit extraneuronal rather than intraneuronal monoamine oxidase (MAO). Perfusion of the striatal sites with a Ca2+-free medium containing 2 mM EGTA did not prevent the MPP+-induced DA release indicating that MPP+ does not release DA from the striatal DA terminals by the Ca2+-dependent process of exocytosis. The responses of DA and DOPAC to 25 mM K+ were markedly suppressed in animals treated with MPTP and MPP+, these effects being most severe with the highest dose of MPP+. Moreover, this suppression of the K+-induced responses persisted in animals perfused with MPP+ in the presence of benztropine or ouabain, thus suggesting that MPP+ may have potent deleterious membrane effects. These studies have provided the first direct in vivo demonstration of the action of MPTP and MPP+ and the neuropharmacological basis of this action on DA metabolism in the rat striatum. The results show that the elevated levels of DA in the striatal perfusates are due to a direct action of MPTP and MPP+ on the nigrostriatal DA terminals and cannot be fully accounted for solely by their inhibition of MAO activity and/or inhibition of DA re-uptake.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)