Intracerebroventricular infusion of inhibitors of endopeptidase-24.11 ('enkephalinase') increases the spontaneous firing frequency of an identifiable set of cells in the substantia nigra

The effect of inhibitors of the membrane-bound metalloendopeptidase-24.11 ('enkephalinase') on the activity of electrophysiologically identifiable neurons in the substantia nigra is described. Dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic cells were examined. Cells were classified by their responses to striatal stimulation. Only those cells in which the stimulation evoked excitation (alone or mixed with inhibition) responded to the inhibitors. Those cells in which the evoked response was only inhibition did not respond to the drugs. Infusion of 1 μ mol of N-[1-(R,S)-carboxy-2-phenylethyl]Phe-pAB (CPAB), 1 or 2 μmol of N-[1-(R,S)-carboxy-3-phenylpropyl]Phe-pAB (CPPAB) into the lateral ventricle produced statistically significant increases (pre- to post-drug treatment) in the spontaneous activity of cells exhibiting excitatory evoked responses: average increases were 33.3%. The increase in spontaneous activity reached an apparent maximum 20 min after the end of the infusion. The increased firing frequency was shown to result from the inhibition of the enzyme, rather than a non-specific effect, as the infusion of 2 μmol of N-[1-(R,S)-carboxy-2-phenylethyl]Leu-pAB, an inhibitor structurally related to CPAB and CPPAB yet two orders of magnitude less potent, was without effect on the activity of nigral neurons. The inhibition of the enzyme by 1 μmol CPAB was verified through in vitro assay. We hypothesize that inhibition of the enzyme enhances peptide-modulated (tachykinin and/or enkephalin) excitation in select neurons of the substantia nigra.