dopamine

Overview

Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter with central roles in motor control, motivation, reward processing, endocrine regulation, and several peripheral physiological processes. In the nervous system, its biological effects are mediated primarily through dopamine receptors, and altered dopamine signaling is a hallmark of multiple neurological and psychiatric disorders, especially Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine is also widely used as a biomarker of neurotransmitter balance and dopaminergic neuron function in experimental and clinical research.

In biomedical and translational contexts, dopamine is studied both as an endogenous signaling molecule and as a therapeutic target or readout of disease state. Recent work has focused on dopamine depletion, dopamine metabolism, dopamine receptor biology, and methods for measuring or restoring dopamine levels in models of neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, and bioelectronic sensing systems.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications show dopamine being investigated across several distinct biomedical settings, most prominently in Parkinson’s disease and related dopaminergic dysfunction. In an in-vitro and in-vivo Parkinson’s disease study of sulforaphane, the authors reported restored dopamine metabolism in the striatum, with normalization of the DOPAC/DA and 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios. This work linked dopamine recovery to mitochondrial autophagy and mitigation of CBS-H2S axis damage, alongside NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition and related pathways involving mitophagy and oxidative stress.

Multiple Parkinson’s disease studies used dopamine as a key biochemical endpoint. In a randomized trial comparing levodopa-carbidopa-entacapone with levodopa-benserazide, the stated aim was to assess short-term biochemical effects on dopamine bioavailability in patients. In a predictive validation study of the repeated low-dose reserpine rodent model of parkinsonism, chronic levodopa treatment attenuated motor impairments and reduced dopamine depletion in the striatum. Another preclinical study of piezoelectric neuromodulation of the subthalamic nucleus reported protection of dopaminergic neurons and increased dopamine levels, again emphasizing dopamine as a marker of therapeutic response.

Dopamine was also central to mechanistic and biomarker studies in neurodegeneration beyond Parkinson’s disease. In a rotenone-induced rat model of Parkinson’s disease, a sigma-1-receptor agonist was associated with compromised brain dopamine alongside changes in alpha synuclein, IL-6, and glutamate. In a methylmercury-induced ALS-like neurodegeneration model, caffeic acid phenethyl ester normalized neurotransmitter imbalances including dopamine, GABA, serotonin, glutamate, and acetylcholine, suggesting broad neurochemical stabilization. In an MDMA-induced oxidative stress study, dopamine was decreased in parallel with neurotransmitter imbalance and neuroinflammatory injury. In Huntington’s disease research, striatal dopamine levels were assessed together with serotonin, glutamate, and GABA after pinostrobin treatment.

Several studies focused on dopamine measurement, detection, or biosensing. A paper-based electrochemical aptasensor was developed for simultaneous detection of extracellular dopamine and serotonin in human brain samples, highlighting dopamine as a clinically relevant analyte in neurotransmitter imbalance. Another study used carbon fiber microelectrodes with covalently immobilized hydrogels for determination of dopamine in the living mouse brain, with short-chain β-mercaptoethylamine selected for its superior selectivity for positively charged dopamine. A graphene transistor-based aqueous high-order tripartite synapse system also incorporated dopamine as a modulator in a light-bio-matter interface, demonstrating co-modulation by electricity, light, and dopamine in physiological media.

Dopamine was additionally studied in relation to gut-brain signaling and metabolic regulation. In a systems dynamics model of the semaglutide-responsive gut-brain axis, dopamine neural activity was included among the modeled neural effects alongside AgRP and POMC activity. In a randomized phase 2 fecal bacteriotherapy trial in drug-naïve Parkinson’s disease, fecal dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels increased, while epithelial barrier integrity improved with higher CDH1 expression. These findings connect dopamine to gut microbiota modulation and intestinal barrier function, with relevance to Parkinson’s disease symptomatology.

A separate line of research addressed dopamine in cell and tissue engineering. A study on pH-responsive injectable polyethylene glycol and dopamine-grafted chitosan hydrogel for sustained insulin release used dopamine as a functional graft to improve bioadhesion and drug-polymer interaction. Here, dopamine served not as a neurotransmitter endpoint but as a chemical moiety that enhanced material performance for controlled drug delivery. In another study, modulation of WNT and FGF18 improved the yield and subtype identity of human pluripotent stem cell-derived midbrain dopamine neurons, with increased dopamine production and release and improved electrophysiological properties. This work is directly relevant to dopaminergic neuron generation for disease modeling and regenerative applications.

Dopamine also appeared in biomarker and translational profiling studies. In personalized metabolite biomarker predictions for Parkinson’s disease, dopamine was identified among consensus biomarkers, together with eumelanin and additional Metabolites such as salsolinol, vitamin D3, and retinal. In a study of postmortem or brain-sample neurotransmitter imbalance, dopamine was measured alongside serotonin using an aptasensor, reinforcing its value in neurochemical profiling. In inherited metabolic disease, intraputaminal eladocagene exuparvovec in pediatric aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency was associated with de novo dopamine production, underscoring dopamine’s role as a functional readout of restored biosynthesis.

Outside neurodegeneration, dopamine was also referenced in metabolic and endocrine research. In a model of diabetic treatment using PEG and dopamine-grafted chitosan hydrogel, dopamine contributed to material bioadhesion and sustained insulin release. In a systems model of appetite and weight regulation, dopamine neural activity was included as part of the semaglutide-responsive gut-brain axis. These studies reflect dopamine’s broader relevance to reward-related feeding circuits and translational bioengineering.

Key Publications

• Jun Antidepressant effects of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation and β-carotene nanoparticles in a rat model of depression. (Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 2026, PMID 42190987): "This was accompanied by a significant decrease in 5-HT, NE, DA, BDNF, AChE and Na+, K+, ATPase and an increase in MAO in the cortex and hippocampus of depressed rats."
• Jun Glucosamine/chitosan blend surface-engineered rutin-loaded polymer/lipid hybrid nanoparticles for neuroprotection in induced schizophrenia model. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42310329): "Rutin also stabilized dopamine and glutamate pathways, alleviating cognitive and neurochemical imbalances characteristic of schizophrenia."
• Jun Sodium alginate modified by dopamine multifunctional injectable hydrogel with photothermal, antibacterial, and hemostatic properties for accelerating infected wound repair. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 42002312): "a multifunctional injectable alginate hydrogel was developed via a dopamine modification strategy."
• Jun Fouling mitigation in membrane bioreactors via strategic dopamine-nanoparticle incorporation: Tailored modifier type and distribution. (Journal of environmental management, 2026, PMID 42241860): "For this purpose, dopamine and ZnTe, ZnSe, and CdSe nanoparticles were added to the top layer of TMBR membranes and the sublayer of SMBR membranes."
• Jun SemaGBA: A System Dynamics Model of the Semaglutide-Responsive Gut-Brain Axis A Model of How the Brain and Semaglutide Regulate Appetite and Weight. (Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2026, PMID 41969210): "...and neural (AgRP, POMC, and dopamine neural activity) effects."
• Jun pH-Responsive Injectable Polyethylene Glycol and Dopamine-Grafted Chitosan Hydrogel for Sustained Insulin Release for Better Diabetic Treatment. (ACS applied bio materials, 2026, PMID 42148601): "The polyethylene glycol (PEG) component enhances hydrophilicity and stability, while dopamine improves bioadhesion and drug-polymer interaction, enabling controlled release."
• May Neuroprotective Potential of Pinostrobin in a Rat Model of Huntington's Disease: Behavioural, Biochemical, and Molecular Docking Evidence. (Molecular neurobiology, 2026, PMID 42213222): "The effect of PSB on 3-NPA induced alterations on neurotransmitter levels (dopamine serotonin, glutamate, and GABA) was assessed by brain striatum homogenate."
• May Comparison of blood dopamine in Parkinson's patients treated with levodopa carbidopa entacapone vs levodopa benserazide: A randomized controlled trial. (Medicine, 2026, PMID 42175483): "Although both combinations aim to enhance dopamine bioavailability and improve motor symptoms, their short-term biochemical effects remain to be clarified."
• May Ameliorative Effects of Butyrylated Starch on Cognitive Dysfunction in d-Galactose-Induced Aging Mice: A Comparative Analysis with Exogenous Butyrate and Resistant Starch. (Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2026, PMID 42104939): "...and increased dopamine, glutamic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamine, tryptophan, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and nicotinamide levels."
• May Neuroprotective effect of sigma-1-receptor agonist 1,3-di-o-tolylguanidine in rotenone-induced model of Parkinson's disease in rats. (Metabolic brain disease, 2026, PMID 42154055): "Further, brain sigma 1 receptor, dopamine, alpha synuclein, IL-6, glutamate levels as well as histological features were significantly compromised."