Effects of taurine and gamma-aminobutyric acid on akinesia and analgesia induced by D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide in rats.

Effects of taurine or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on akinesia and analgesia induced by D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide were investigated in rats. Administration of taurine (dose range: 2.375 X 10(-2) M-9.5 X 10(-2)-Met-enkephalinamide were investigated in rats. Administration of taurine (dose range: 2.375 X 10(-2) M-9.5 X 10(-2) M/10 microliters) into the left lateral ventricle 10 min prior to the injection of D-Ala2-Met enkephalinamide (50 microgram/10 microliter) produced a dose-dependent reduction in the duration of akinesia and to some extent of analgesia, as estimated at 30 min and 60 min following the enkephalinamide injection; at the first estimation-time (10 min), taurine did not alter the duration of akinesia or that of analgesia. The median effective dose (ED50) for akinesia determined at 60 min after D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide was 5 times greater and that for analgesia assessed at the same time was 1.7 times greater in taurine-treated rats than the respective doses in control animals. Administration of GABA under similar experimental conditions produced a dose-dependent reduction in the duration of analgesia from the initial estimation time (10 min) following the injection of D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide. The ED50 for analgesia determined at 30 min after D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide was 3 times greater in GABA-treated rats than in control animals. Unlike the effects of taurine, GABA did not alter the duration of akinesia. Neither the duration of akinesia nor that of analgesia was modified by taurine or GABA alone in rats tested 9 min after the injection of each amino acid. These findings suggest that taurine may promote a recovery from both akinesia and analgesia, while GABA decreases only the analgesia induced by D-Ala2-Met-enkephalinamide.