Responses of central neurones to piribedil and 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine: comparison with dopamine and apomorphine

Inhibitory effects of bromocriptine on corticosterone secretion in male rats

Bromocriptine, a dopamine D2 receptor agonist, is widely used for treating prolactinoma, Parkinson's disease and galactorrhea. However, the influence of bromocriptine on the endocrine system, especially adrenal function, is not clear. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of bromocriptine on corticosterone production in rats. Male rats were treated or not treated by bromocriptine (5 mg/kg, s.c.) twice per day for 2 days before decapitation. The adrenal zona fasciculata-reticularis cells were prepared and incubated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), forskolin (an adenylyl cyclase activator), 8-bromo-adenosine 3':5' cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cAMP, a membrane-permeable analogue of cAMP), and steroidogenic precursors including 25-OH-cholesterol and pregnenolone. The concentrations of prolactin, corticosterone and pregnenolone in the plasma and/or medium were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The protein expression of cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450scc) enzyme and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) was analyzed by Western blotting. Administration of bromocriptine in vivo resulted in a decrease in the levels of plasma prolactin and corticosterone. Basal--and ACTH--as well as forskolin-stimulated corticosterone secretion by zona fasciculata-reticularis cells was also lower in bromocriptine-treated rats than in control animals. The decreased production of corticosterone in zona fasciculata-reticularis cells could be reversed by administration of 8-Br-cAMP. The corticosterone and pregnenolone release induced by 25-OH-cholesterol in zona fasciculata-reticularis cells was reduced by administration of bromocriptine. The protein expression of both StAR protein and P450scc in zona fasciculata-reticularis cells was inhibited in the bromocriptine-treated group. Administration of bromocriptine in vitro reduced the release of corticosterone stimulated by ACTH and forskolin in rat zona fasciculata-reticularis cells. These results suggested that bromocriptine caused adrenal dysfunction through inhibition of ACTH action and of the activity of adenylyl cyclase, and impaired the early steps of corticosterone biosynthesis.

Bromocriptine enhances the behavioural effects of apomorphine and dopamine after systemic or intracerebral injection in rats

The ergot alkaloid bromocriptine, given intraperitoneally produced dose-dependent, long-lasting stereotyped behaviour in rats which was partly antagonised by the injection of trifluoperazine into the caudate nucleus. The stereotyped behaviour produced by apomorphine (s.c.) in both naïve and catecholamine-depleted rats was significantly enhanced by prior treatment with bromocriptine (i.p.). The bilateral application of bromocriptine (2.5-40 micrograms/side in either 0.5% tartaric acid or 50% propylene glycol aqueous vehicles) to the nucleus accumbens (NAC) of rats had no effect on locomotion over a 12 hr period after injection. In contrast, another ergot alkaloid, ergometrine, dissolved in the propylene glycol vehicle, and dopamine (DA) dissolved in either of the vehicles or in saline, produced marked stimulation of locomotion. As well as being inactive after direct application to the nucleus accumbens, bromocriptine (10-160 micrograms/side) did not induce stereotyped behaviour after bilateral injection into the caudate nucleus. However, the local application of bromocriptine (10 micrograms/side) to the nucleus accumbens, while itself inactive, significantly enhanced the locomotor stimulant effect of DA (5 micrograms/side) applied to the same nucleus. The data suggest that bromocriptine is able to enhance the effects of agonists such as DA and apomorphine at DA receptors, even under conditions where bromocriptine itself is inactive.

Effects of estrogens on the responses of caudate neurons to microiontophoretically applied dopamine

The electrical activity of caudate neurons and their response to iontophoretically applied dopamine (DA) were tested at different time intervals before and after i.m. injection of estradiol benzoate in rats ovariectomized one week previously. One hundred and three neurons were recorded before estradiol injection and, of these, 25% were spontaneously active and 75% were driven by glutamate. The firing activity of the majority (86%) of the neurons was inhibited on application of DA. At 2--6 after the estradiol injections, the proportion of spontaneously active neurons was elevated to 87% and their firing rate was dramatically increased. Concomitantly, the proportion of cells affected by DA decreased to 39%; moreover, the majority of cells responsive to DA was now excited following it. We conclude that estrogens are able to influence the global activity of caudate neurons and to reverse their sensitivity to DA. This action may be partly mediated by the pituitary since it was not observed in ovariectomized rats which were also hypophysectomized.