L-DOPA stimulated the K(+)-induced [3H]GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) release from slices of substantia nigra pars reticulata, entopeduncular nucleus, globus pallidus and caudate-putamen isolated from the ipsilateral side of 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, but the release from ipsilateral subthalamic slices was not affected. In substantia nigra, L-DOPA stimulation (EC50 = 1 microM) of [3H]GABA release was dose-dependently blocked (IC50 = 0.1 microM for the stimulation caused by 10 microM L-DOPA) by the D1 antagonist SCH 23390, but was not affected by (-)-sulpiride, a D2 antagonist. SCH 23390 also blocked the stimulation in the other nuclei. The DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor NSD-1015 (500 microM) did not prevent the stimulation induced by L-DOPA in all of the studied nuclei. The results suggest that L-DOPA is able to activate D1 receptors located on the terminals of striatal projections via the dopamine formed by a decarboxylation mediated by an NSD-1015-resistant enzyme. Activation of the presynaptic D1 receptors results in stimulation of GABA release.