Pharmacological assessment of the site of action of opioids on the release of vasopressin and oxytocin in the rat

Naloxone and its congener, methyl naloxone, were given subcutaneously (s.c.) or centrally (i.c.v.) to 24-h water-deprived male rats 30 min prior to decapitation and the effect on piasma levels of vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) was studied. The potency of s.c. applied methyl naloxone to increase plasma OT levels did not differ from that of naloxone. Injected i.c.v., neither methyl naloxone nor naloxone had a clear effect and they antagonized i.c.v. co-administered dynorphin A-(1–13) equipotentlv. Methyl naloxone or naloxone, s.c., antagonized the inhibitory action of simultaneous dynorphin A-(1–13) and β-endorphin-(1–31) given i.c.v., although higher doses of methyl naloxone were required. The data indicate that the sites of inhibition of neurohypophysial hormone release due to β-endorphin-(1–31) are more likely to be located mostly within the blood-brain barrier, to which methyl naloxone has less ready access, than are the sites of inhibition due to dynorphin A-(1–13).