Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1973 Mar;70(3):769–772. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.3.769

Demonstration and Distribution of Phenylethanolamine in Brain and Other Tissues

Juan M Saavedra 1, Julius Axelrod 1
PMCID: PMC433355  PMID: 4268476

Abstract

A specific and sensitive assay for phenylethanolamine in tissues is described. By this assay, phenylethanolamine was detected in many peripheral tissues and brains of rats. It is unequally distributed in rat brain, with the highest concentration present in hypothalamus and midbrain. Concentrations of brain phenylethanolamine were elevated after administration of phenylethylamine, phenylalanine, p-chlorophenylalanine, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors and decreased after administration of dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitors. Denervation of sympathetic nerves caused a moderate fall in phenylethanolamine concentrations. These results indicate that phenylethanolamine is synthesized intraneuronally from phenylalanine and phenylethylamine, but that only part of the phenylethanolamine is stored in sympathetic nerves.

Keywords: enzyme assay, intraneural synthesis and storage, phenylethylamine, phenylalanine, rat

Full text

PDF
769

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. AXELROD J. Presence, formation, and metabolism of normetanephrine in the brain. Science. 1958 Apr 4;127(3301):754–755. doi: 10.1126/science.127.3301.754. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. AXELROD J. Purification and properties of phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase. J Biol Chem. 1962 May;237:1657–1660. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boulton A. A., Majer J. R. Mass spectrometry of crude biological extracts. Absolute quantitative detection of metabolites at the submicrogram level. J Chromatogr. 1970 Apr 22;48(2):322–327. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(01)85561-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boulton A. A., Milward L. Separation, detection and quantitative analysis of urinary beta-phenylethylamine. J Chromatogr. 1971 May 6;57(2):287–296. doi: 10.1016/0021-9673(71)80042-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Coyle J. T., Axelrod J. Dopamine- -hydroxylase in the rat brain: developmental characteristics. J Neurochem. 1972 Feb;19(2):449–459. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1972.tb01354.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Creveling C. R., Kondo K., Daly J. W. Use of dansyl derivatives and mass spectrometry for identification of biogenic amines. Clin Chem. 1968 Apr;14(4):302–309. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GADDUM J. H., GIARMAN N. J. Preliminary studies on the biosynthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1956 Mar;11(1):88–92. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1956.tb01033.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GOLDSTEIN M., ANAGNOSTE B., LAUBER E., MCKEREGHAM M. R. INHIBITION OF DOPAMINE-BETA-HYDROXYLASE BY DISULFIRAM. Life Sci. 1964 Jul;3:763–767. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(64)90031-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Glowinski J., Iversen L. L. Regional studies of catecholamines in the rat brain. I. The disposition of [3H]norepinephrine, [3H]dopamine and [3H]dopa in various regions of the brain. J Neurochem. 1966 Aug;13(8):655–669. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1966.tb09873.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hörtnagl H., Winkler H. Bovine splenic nerve: characterization of noradrenaline-containing vesicles and other cell organelles by density gradient centrifugation. J Physiol. 1969 Nov;205(1):103–114. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1969.sp008954. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Koe B. K., Weissman A. p-Chlorophenylalanine: a specific depletor of brain serotonin. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1966 Dec;154(3):499–516. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lipton M. A., Gordon R., Guroff G., Udenfriend S. p-Chlorophenylalanine-induced chemical manifestations of phenylketonuria in rats. Science. 1967 Apr 14;156(3772):248–250. doi: 10.1126/science.156.3772.248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. MONTAGU K. A. Catechol compounds in rat tissues and in brains of different animals. Nature. 1957 Aug 3;180(4579):244–245. doi: 10.1038/180244a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Molinoff P. B., Landsberg L., Axelrod J. An enzymatic assay for octopamine and other beta-hydroxylated phenylethylamines. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1969 Dec;170(2):253–261. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Molinoff P., Axelrod J. Octopamine: normal occurrence in sympathetic nerves of rats. Science. 1969 Apr 25;164(3878):428–429. doi: 10.1126/science.164.3878.428. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. POTTER L. T., AXELROD J. PROPERTIES OF NOREPINEPHRINE STORAGE PARTICLES OF THE RAT HEART. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1963 Dec;142:299–305. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Saavedra J. M., Axelrod J. A specific and sensitive enzymatic assay for tryptamine in tissues. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1972 Sep;182(3):363–369. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. TWAROG B. M., PAGE I. H. Serotonin content of some mammalian tissues and urine and a method for its determination. Am J Physiol. 1953 Oct;175(1):157–161. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1953.175.1.157. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. VOGT M. The concentration of sympathin in different parts of the central nervous system under normal conditions and after the administration of drugs. J Physiol. 1954 Mar 29;123(3):451–481. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1954.sp005064. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES