Previous studies demonstrated that opiate inhibition of adenylate cyclase (AC) in striatal membranes is related to an opiate-stimulated GTPase with a low Km. Dopamine (DA) also dose-dependently activates a high affinity GTPase, with a pattern of stimulation and a receptor selectivity (D1 type) similar to those observed in DA activation of striatal AC. Moreover, the DA- and the opiate-sensitive GTPase activities have different sensitivities to agents that affect the inhibition of AC, such as Na+ and N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), or the stimulation, such as cholera toxin (CTX). Thus, the impairment of opiate-dependent inhibition of AC in the absence of Na+ ions or after NEM pretreatment of the membranes is parallel with preferential impairment of the opiate-dependent GTPase. On the contrary, selective blocking by CTX of the DA-dependent GTPase leads to the enhancement of AC stimulation by DA. These results suggest that DA activation of striatal AC is related to a GTPase that is specifically stimulated by DA and is associated with the Ns protein. A distinct Ni protein seems to be responsible for the opiate effect on AC and GTPase.