Distribution of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DOPEG) in microdissected brain structures and the pituitary gland: metabolite changes in the median eminence in response to hyperprolactinemia and suckling.

Dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DOPEG) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were determined simultaneously by a radioenzymatic, thin-layer chromatographic assay able to detect 1-10 pg of the parent compounds and 80-120 pg of their metabolites. A localization study of these compounds in 20 micro-dissected hypothalamic and limbic structures and the anterior and posterior pituitary glands of male rats was completed. DOPAC was detectable in 14 of 22 structures with the lowest DOPAC/DA ratio being found in the caudate nucleus (7.1%) and the highest in the medial aspect of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (422.0%). There was a higher DOPAC/DA ratio in the lateral (21.5%) than in the medial (11.3%) portion of the median eminence suggesting that a greater portion of released DA in the medial median eminence enters the portal circulation. DOPEG was detectable in 6 of 22 structures with DOPEG/NE ratios ranging from 8% (interstitial nucleus of the stria terminalis, ventral aspect) to 32% (medial median eminence). A poor correlation exists between DOPAC and DA concentrations in the various brain regions while there was a stronger relationship between DOPEG and NE concentrations. Male rats were rendered hyper-prolactinemic for 48 hours with injections of ovine prolactin (oPRL) every 8 hours (4 mg/kg body weight sc). In such rats there was a suppression of endogenous rat PRL (rPRL) secretion, the DOPAC/DA ratio increased 2.2-fold in the medial (MEm) and 1.9-fold in the lateral median eminence (MEl), and the DA concentration in the anterior pituitary also increased 2.6-fold. In 10 day postpartum lactating rats, suckling produced marked increases in serum rPRL but no change in DOPAC/DA ratios in the ME or in the DA concentration in the anterior pituitary. The data reveal a wide range of DOPAC/DA ratios (7-422%) in brain regions containing cell bodies, axons and terminals of the different dopaminergic neuronal tracts in brain and pituitary. Considering the DOPAC/DA ratios in the MEm and MEl, it is suggested that a large perturbation of dopaminergic transmission produces a significant ratio change while a smaller perturbation is not detected by this index of neuronal metabolism.