Dopamine: mediator of brain polysome disaggregation after L-dopa.

The disaggregation of brain polysomes which is produced by giving large doses of (L)-dopa to rats is not reproduced by administering its metabolite, 3-O-methyldopa, by giving D-dopa, which also depletes the brain of S-adenosylmethionine but is not converted to catecholamines, or by giving the L-dopa after a decarboxylase inhibitor. Polysome disaggregation is potentiated by the prior administration of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, indicating that formation of a catecholamine is an obligatory requirement. These observations suggest that the mechanism by which L-dopa disaggregates brain polysomes involves its conversion to dopamine within the majority of brain cells.