Inhibition by hydralazine of the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline in rat atria in vitro and in vivo.

1. Hydralazine (10 to 2000 microgramol/l) produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the conversion of (3H)-dopamine to (3H)-noradrenaline in rat isolated atria. 2. In rats treated with hydralazine (2 mg/kg, i.p.), there was an inhibition of the conversion of (3H)-dopamine to (3)-noradrenaline in the intact artia in vivo. 3. Hydralazine treatment may result in the appearance of dopamine as a significant co-transmitter in noradrenergic nerves, and this may contribute to the antihypertensive effect of hydralazine.