Electrophysiological Effects of Putative Autoreceptor-selective Dopamine Agonists on A10 Dopamine Neurons

The dopamine (DA) hypothesis of schizophrenia proposes hyperactivity of the mesocorticolimbic DA system, originating within the A10 DA cells of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), as a pathophysiological mechanism. Thus, reduction of activity in this system, including that produced by putative "autoreceptor-selective" DA agonists, may be of clinical utility. The present studies compared the ability of eight D2 DA receptor agonists to inhibit the firing of rat A10 DA neurons after i.v. administration. Both N-n-propyl-N-phenylethyl-p(3-hydorxyphenyl)ethylamine hydrochloride (RU 24213) and 2-amino-6-allyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-thiazolo-[4,5-d]- azepine dihydrochloride (B-HT 920) were potent, high-efficacy agonists which completely inhibited the firing of A10 DA cells. The putative autoreceptor-selective DA agonists 3-(4-(4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridyl-(1)-butyl)-indole hydrochloride (EMD 23,448) and (+)-3-(3-hydroxy-phenyl)-N-n-propylpiperidine [(+)-3-PPP] were considerably weaker than RU 24213 and B-HT 920, but also exhibited "full" efficacy (i.e., they completely suppressed cell firing). The putative autoreceptor agonist preclamol [(-)-3-PPP] and its trans-fused congener (-)-HW 165 were weak partial agonists that failed to completely inhibit A10 DA cells. The new putative autoreceptor agonist N-[(8-alpha)-2-chloro-6-methylergoline-8-yl]-2,3]dimethylopropa namide (SDZ 208-911) was also a weak partial agonist that exhibited partial antagonist effects (reversed inhibition produced by the D2 agonist quinpirole), whereas its structural analog N-[(8-alpha)-2-chloro-6-methylergoline-8-yl]-2,2-dimethylopropa namide (SDZ 208-912) was nearly inactive as an agonist, but was an effective antagonist.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)