| Research Abstract |
[I] Function of L-DOPA in baroreceptor reflex:
[1] (1) Electrolytic lesions of the right nucleus tractus solitarii selectively decrease by 45 % the tissue content of L-DOPA in the dissected ipsilateral caudal ventrolateral medulla.
(2) Intermittent stimulation of the right aortic depressor nerve repetitively and constantly causes L-DOPA release, hypotension and bradycardia.
(3) Baroreceptor activation selectively evokes L-DOPA. This L-DOPA release is suppressed by acute lesion in the ipsilateral nucleus tractus solitarii.
[2] In a single cell neuron isolated from nucleus tractus solitarii, L-DOPA 0.1 to 1 mM augments HVA Ca2+ current with the maximal effect of 50 % over the control current. The effect is blocked by L-DOPA methyl ester, a competitive L-DOPA antagonist.
[II] Identification of L-DOPA as a casual factor for delayed neuronal cell death induced by brain ischemia: Ten-min transient ischemia due to four vessel occlusion increases extracellular L-DOPA, dopamine and glutamate during rat striatal microdialysis, and elicits neuronal cell death. Intrastriatal perfusion of 10-100 nM L-DOPA cyclohexyl ester, a competitive DOPA antagonist, 10 min before ischemia, concentration-dependently decreases glutamate release without modification of dopamine release by ischemia, and protects neurons from cell death.
[III] L-DOPA transporter:
(1) In Xenopus laevis oocytes, injected with polyA+ RNA from rabbit intestinal epithelium, the transport activity for L-[14C]DOPA with a high affinity is observed. This uptake was partially Na+-dependent but Cl- -independent. L-Tyrosine, -phenylalanine, -leucine and E〜lysine inhibit this transport activity. Coinjection of an antisence cRNA, as well as oligonucleotide complementary to rabbit rBAT cDNA almost completely inhibited the uptake of L-[14C]DOPA in the oocytes. rBAT is thus responsible for the L-[14C]DOPA uptake activity.
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