Dopaminergic regulation of postnatal development of dynorphin neurons in rat striatum

This study examined whether the postnatal development of the biosynthesis of an opioid peptide, dynorphin A (1-8) (DYN) is influenced by dopamine (DA) deficiency. The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) was used as a tool to induce DA deficiency on the third day of the postnatal period in Sprague-Dawley rat pups. During the postnatal period, the levels of striatal DYN steadily increased in an age-dependent fashion and appeared to peak between 35 and 45 days. In neonatal 6-OHDA-lesioned animals, the category with 95% or more DA loss exhibited a reduction in the levels of DYN in the postnatal period whereas the category with less than 95% DA loss did not show significant changes in DYN levels. The results indicate that the normal development of striatal DYN is negatively affected only when there is a near-total loss of DA during early postnatal period.