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The activation constants (KA; dose required to occupy 50% of receptors) for reversal of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL)-induced elevation of striatal L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) levels via stimulation of presynaptic dopamine receptors were determined for apomorphine and two dopamine D3 receptor-selective agonists, quinpirole and LY163502 (quinelorane). The KA values correlated significantly with the affinities (Ki) of the agonists for the D3 (r = 0.999, P < 0.05) but not the D2 (r = -0.13) receptor, suggesting that striatal synthesis-inhibiting autoreceptors are of the D3 rather than the D2 subtype.

Irreversible inactivation of striatal D2 dopamine (DA) autoreceptors with N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) or inactivation of striatal guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) with pertussis toxin (PT) shifted the dose-response curve for N-n-propylnorapomorphine (NPA)-mediated inhibition of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL)-induced elevation of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) to the right, with a decrease in the maximum response. For the partial agonist (+)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-n-propylpiperidine [(+)-3-PPP], in contrast, there was little shift in the ED50, after inactivation of either D2 receptors or G proteins. Completely analogous effects were found at the somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptor in the raphe nuclei, mediating inhibition of the synthesis of serotonin (5-HT); the full agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) and the partial agonist, buspirone were utilized to inhibit the synthesis of 5-HT, as measured by changes in levels of L-5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). Additionally, in both systems, combined treatment with pertussis toxin, followed by EEDQ, reduced the maximum effect, when compared to either agent alone but had little further effect on the ED50. In systems exhibiting a large receptor reserve for agonists, such as those described above, the same pattern of response seen after inactivation of receptors or G proteins may reflect the operation of a common mechanism underlying the phenomenon of receptor reserve.

Agonist competition for [3H]spiperone binding to striatal dopamine D2 receptors was studied in rats rendered supersensitive by chronic treatment with haloperidol. The classical dopamine agonist (-)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine displaced [3H]spiperone biphasically, with IC50 values of 0.5 and 140 nM for the high and low affinity components, respectively. Neither the relative density nor the affinity of either site for (-)-N-propylnorapomorphine was affected by chronic haloperidol treatment. On the other hand, the novel agonist EMD 23 448 displaced [3H]spiperone monophasically. Although this agent only displays potent dopaminergic agonism in supersensitive animals, chronic treatment with haloperidol likewise did not alter the affinity of this drug for [3H]spiperone binding sites. The results suggest that the enhanced in vivo potency of certain agonists in supersensitive animals is probably not mediated by changes in D2 receptor affinity.

Chronic treatment of rats with the MAOI clorgyline significantly reduced the density (Bmax) of cortical beta-adrenergic receptors but did not alter either the Bmax or dissociation constant (Kd) of 3H-spiperone binding to striatal DA receptors. Clorgyline co-treatment also did not significantly affect either behavioral supersensitivity to apomorphine or the increase in 3H-spiperone binding induced by chronic haloperidol. In contrast, repeated treatment with the DA uptake inhibitor amfonelic acid elicited behavioral subsensitivity and reduced striatal 3H-spiperone binding. Furthermore, amfonelic acid co-treatment prevented haloperidol-induced behavioral and receptor binding changes. The possible relevance of these findings in relation to drug choice in clinical trials of receptor sensitivity modification are discussed.

Dose-effect curves were obtained for five specific components of stereotyped behavior (locomotor hyperactivity, rearing, sniffing, grooming and oral activity) elicited by the nonselective dopamine agonists N-propylnorapomorphine (NPA; 0.001-4.5 mg/kg) and apomorphine (APO; 0.3-10.0 mg/kg), the selective D2 agonists LY 171555 (0.1-18.0 mg/kg) and RU 24213 (0.7-20.0 mg/kg) and the selective D1 agonist SKF 38393 (0.6-40.0 mg/kg) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. All the agonists except SKF 38393 elicited dose-dependent sniffing. Both NPA and APO produced robust oral activity at high doses, with concomitant reductions in other behaviors. Neither RU 24213 nor SKF 38393 elicited dose-dependent oral behavior, whereas LY 171555 induced a maximal level of oral activity which was much less intense than that produced by NPA or APO. SKF 38393 alone induced only dose-dependent grooming. Co-treatment of Sprague-Dawley rats with SKF 38393 (5-40 mg/kg) and either LY 171555 (0.1-1.6 mg/kg) or RU 24213 (6.7 mg/kg) produced significant enhancement of sniffing but not of oral activity. Significant enhancement of both behavioral components was observed in male Wistar rats. Differences in specific components of behavioral response on treatment with combinations of D1 and D2 agonists may reflect use of animal strains with different ratios of D1/D2 innervation and/or different behavioral criteria.

The irreversible dopamine (DA) receptor antagonist N-ethoxy-carbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) was used to determine the extent of receptor reserve at DA autoreceptors regulating in vivo tyrosine hydroxylase activity. Rats were treated with vehicle or EEDQ (1 X 0.5-2 X 6 mg/kg, subcutaneously) and, 24 hr later, dose response curves were generated for DA agonist reversal of gamma-butyrolactone-induced striatal L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) accumulation. Double reciprocal plots were obtained of equieffective doses of agonist required to elicit response at several levels of effect before and after partial irreversible receptor inactivation. A pseudo-dissociation constant (pseudo-KA, in units of dose) and the fraction of receptors remaining active (q) were determined; these values were then used to calculate the relationship between receptor occupancy and response. The ED50 (1 microgram/kg) for the full DA receptor agonist N-propylnorapomorphine (NPA) was shifted 2.8, 4.8-, and 11.3-fold to the right after partial irreversible receptor blockade which left the fraction of receptors remaining active (q) at 0.37, 0.17 and 0.058, respectively. Corresponding maximal reversal of L-DOPA accumulation was 100, 77, and 58%, indicating a nonlinear relationship between receptor occupancy and response for NPA and the presence of a large receptor reserve; maximal and half-maximal responses were calculated to require occupancy of 30 and 3.8% of the total receptor pool, respectively. Dose response curves were also obtained for the DA autoreceptor-selective agents EMD 23,448 and (+)- and (-)-3-PPP before and after EEDQ treatment. In controls, EMD 23,448 and (+)-3-PPP, like NPA, completely reversed striatal gamma-butyrolactone-induced L-DOPA accumulation, whereas the maximal effect of (-)-3-PPP was 52% reversal. After EEDQ treatment (6 mg/kg), EMD 23,448 and (+)-3-PPP showed relatively small shifts in ED50 values. Furchgott analysis demonstrated that all three atypical agents are partial agonists at the DA autoreceptor with efficacies of 0.19 (EMD 23,448), 0.12 [(+)-3-PPP], and 0.05 [(-)-3-PPP] relative to NPA. The presence of a larger receptor reserve at pre-versus postsynaptic D2 DA receptors and the partial agonist character of drugs such as EMD 23,448 and the enantiomers of 3-PPP may account for their autoreceptor selectivity.

The specific D2 dopamine receptor antagonist sulpiride was used to quantitate the minor component of [3H]spiroperidol binding (at 0.1 nM) to dopamine receptors in rat frontal cortex. Chronic treatment of rats with haloperidol, 0.5 mg/kg for 3 weeks or 2.5 mg/kg for 5 weeks, did not alter the specific binding of [3H]spiroperidol to dopamine receptors in frontal cortex, whereas both treatments significantly increased binding to striatal dopamine receptors. These findings may be relevant to previous studies demonstrating that the frontal cortex, but not the striatum, is resistant to the development of tolerance to the dopamine metabolite-elevating effects of chronic neuroleptic treatment.

The dose response curve for apomorphine reversal of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL)-induced L-DOPA accumulation in rat striatum was shifted almost 6-fold to the right after partial irreversible blockade (83%) of dopamine (DA) autoreceptors with N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ); however, the maximal response was not reduced. In contrast, the major effect of a similar degree of irreversible blockade (86%) on the dose-response curve for the autoreceptor-selective agent EMD 23,448 was a reduction in maximal response (60% of control), indicating that EMD 23,448 is a partial agonist. A large receptor reserve therefore exists at the DA autoreceptor, which may explain in part why many DA agonists are more potent in models pre- than postsynaptic receptor activation.

Treatment of rats with the peptide coupling agent N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (6 mg/kg i.p.) irreversibly reduced the binding of [3H]spiperone ([3H]SPIP) and cis-[3H] piflutixol to striatal D2 and D1 receptors, respectively, by 70 to 75%. In each instance only the receptor density was affected, without a change in the dissociation constant (Kd) of either radioligand. Pretreatment with sulpiride (200 mg/kg i.p.), a selective D2 antagonist, preferentially protected [3H]SPIP sites against N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline-induced inactivation, whereas pretreatment with SCH 23390 (3 mg/kg i.p.), a putative selective D1 antagonist, preferentially blocked the inactivation of cis-[3H]piflutixol binding sites. N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline markedly reduced radioligand binding to cortical alpha-1 ([3H]prazosin) and alpha-2 [( 3H]yohimbine) receptors (10-20% of control) but had a lesser effect on serotonin-2 ([3H]SPIP) and serotonin-1 ([3H]5-HT) receptors (30-40% of control). Muscarinic cholinergic ([3H] quinuclidinyl benzilate) and beta adrenergic ([3H]dihydroalprenolol) receptors were only slightly affected. None of these nondopaminergic sites were protected by sulpiride or SCH 23390, with the exception of serotonin-2 and serotonin-1 which were partially protected by the latter. SPIP (0.2 mg/kg i.p.), haloperidol (1 mg/kg i.p.) and pimozide (2 mg/kg i.p.) all selectively protected the D2 receptor, whereas cis-flupenthixol (2 mg/kg i.p.) protected both dopamine receptors; its inactive isomer trans-flupenthixol (20 mg/kg i.p.) protected neither. Bulbocapnine (25 mg/kg s.c.) selectively, but partially, protected the D1 site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Irreversible inactivation of both D-1 and D-2 dopamine (DA) receptors by N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) resulted in complete loss of stereotypy response to R-(-)-N-propylnorapomorphine (NPA; 0.1-1.0 mg/kg, s.c.) 24 hr later. Stereotyped sniffing recovered much more rapidly than oral behaviors. The D-2 antagonist sulpiride (200 mg/kg) and the putatively nonselective antagonist cis-flupenthixol (2 mg/kg), administered prior to EEDQ, prevented the loss of NPA-induced sniffing but only partially protected against loss of oral behaviors 24 hr later. Complete protection of both behaviors was seen after pretreatment with a combination of sulpiride and the selective D-1 antagonist SCH 23390 (1 mg/kg); pretreatment with the selective D-1 antagonist SCH 23390 alone, however, did not modify the rate of recovery of either behavioral response. The results suggest that either different populations of DA receptors mediate expression of these behaviors or stimulation of a small fraction of the total DA receptor pool may be sufficient to elicit sniffing but not oral responses. Furthermore, maintaining a normal complement of D-2 rather than D-1 receptors appears to be a critical determinant for the elicitation of these behaviors.

Incubation of rat striatal slices with forskolin (0.05-10 microM) elicited a dose-dependent increase in the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) assayed in subsequently solubilized extracts of the enzyme. At low concentrations (33 microM) of the cofactor (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin dihydrochloride TH activity was increased 2.5 to 3-fold. Kinetic analysis of TH activity as a function of (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin dihydrochloride concentration indicated that the enzyme isolated from control slices was composed of multiple species with different Km's for cofactor. Treatment with forskolin (1.5-15 microM) converted the enzyme into a single species with a low Km (28 microM) for (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin dihydrochloride. The dopamine (DA) agonist R-(-)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine (0.1 microM) reversed forskolin-induced activation of TH. Concentration-response curves were obtained for inhibition of forskolin-stimulated TH by R-(-)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine and the DA autoreceptor-selective agonists (+)- and (-)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-n-propylpiperidine and 3-[4-(4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridyl-1)-butyl]indole. R-(-)-N-n-propylnorapomorphine maximally inhibited forskolin-stimulated activity 85%, as indicated by ALLFIT computer analysis of concentration-response curves. (+)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-n-propylpiperidine and 3-[4-(4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridyl-1)-butyl]indole produced a lower degree of maximal inhibition (54 and 63%, respectively), whereas (-)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-n-propylpiperidine was inactive. The D2 DA receptor blocker sulpiride (1 microM) competitively antagonised the effects of all the agonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)