Figure 4.

The effect of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype [soluble catechol-O-methyltransferase (S-COMT) deficiency or COMT knock-out] on the time course and AUC_{0–120 min} of the plasma (A), liver (B) and duodenal (C) 3-O-methyl DOPA (3-OMD) levels after oral administration of L-DOPA and carbidopa (10 mg·kg⁻¹ and 30 mg·kg⁻¹ respectively). The data represent group means ± SEM. ⁺P < 0.05 and ⁺⁺⁺P < 0.001 differs significantly from corresponding male. ^###P < 0.001 differs significantly from corresponding S-COMT-deficient mice. *P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.001 differ significantly from corresponding wild-type (WT) mice. n (male/female) = 13/13 (WT), 6/7 (S-COMT −/−) and 6/7 (COMT −/−).