Dopamine is known to be the prolactin-release inhibiting factor, but the effects of dopamine itself on regulation of prolactin messenger RNA have been little studied because of the instability of dopamine. We have compared the effects of dopamine and bromocriptine on the levels of prolactin mRNA and on the rates of synthesis, storage, and release of prolactin in primary cultured rat pituitary cells. The cells were incubated for 72 h with no secretagogue (control group) or in the presence of either dopamine (10 mumol/L) plus ascorbic acid (100 mumol/L) or bromocriptine (0.1 mumol/L). Prolactin mRNA was measured in cell extracts by means of slot blots, and newly synthesized prolactin was measured in similar incubations by the addition of [3H]leucine, followed by gel electrophoresis. The levels of total prolactin were measured by radioimmunoassay. Prolactin mRNA was reduced to 78 +/- 9% (mean +/- SEM) of control levels in bromocriptine-treated cells and to 59 +/- 7% in dopamine-treated cells, demonstrating that dopamine stabilized by ascorbic acid was able to reduce the levels of prolactin mRNA in rat pituitary cells in culture. Dopamine may act at sites in addition to the dopaminergic D2 receptor, since the level of prolactin mRNA was reduced more by a supramaximal dose of dopamine than by a supramaximal dose of bromocriptine. The results of the [3H]prolactin and prolactin measurements suggested that availability of mRNA was not a major factor in controlling the rate of prolactin synthesis.