L-arginine induces dopamine release from the striatum in vivo

Recent reports indicate that induction of nitric oxide (NO) evokes dopamine (DA) release from the striatum in vitro. In this study, we used L-arginine (L-Arg) to demonstrate the in vivo stimulation of DA release from the striatum of Mongolian gerbils using microdialysis. The content of DA in the striatal extracellular fluid (ECF) increased 7-15-fold in the presence of L-Arg in the perfusate as compared with that of the controls (DA level in drug-free perfusate varied from 0.050 +/- 0.009 to 0.092 +/- 0.023 pmol 10 microliters-1). Simultaneous perfusion of L-Arg with nitro-L-arginine (NLA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, markedly reduced the L-Arg effect on DA release from the striatum. The NLA-perfused animals contained DA levels significantly lower than those observed in the control striatal dialysate. These findings indicate for the first time that DA release in vivo can be induced by L-Arg, the precursor of NO. The data strongly suggest that NO may modulate striatal DA release.