PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “TYROSINE DECARBOXYLASE”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

Measurement of plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate by combination of an enzymatic assay with high-performance liquid chromatography/electrochemistry.

An assay method for the determination of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) in plasma is presented. The procedure is rapid and requires only a small volume. The method includes PLP-dependent enzymatic decarboxylation of L-tyrosine to tyramine (enzyme used: L-tyrosine apodecarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.25) from Streptococcus faecalis) and measurement of tyramine by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. This technique confers specificity, rapidity, and low-cost measurement. Human plasma PLP from 30 normal healthy adults had a mean value of 65.10 +/- 4.70 nM. Sensitivity of the reaction was 1.3 nM and the coefficient of variation of the method (30 repeated assays of sample with a value of 60 nM) was 1.9%.

Adult↗

Influence of olfactory bulbectomy and the serotonergic system upon intermale aggression and maternal behavior in the mouse.

Biochemical parameters in the brains of olfactory bulbectomized male and female mice were studied in two experiments, followed by three experiments in which 5-HTP was injected into bulbectomized males and females to try to block abnormal behaviors. In Experiment 1 bulbectomized male and female mice had significantly less tryptophan hydroxylase in their brains than did sham controls. Neither 5-hydroxtryptophan decarboxylase nor tyrosine hydroxylase activity was affected. In Experiment 2 the rate of synthesis of 5-HT was significantly less in bulbectomized males and females. Since bulbectomy leads to increased pup killing by female mice, the objective of Experiments 3 and 4 was to see whether the injection of 5-HTP into bulbectomized females could block this behavior. The incidence of pup killing was not influenced, but in both studies the latency to kill was significantly prolonged. Olfactory bulbectomy eliminates aggressive behavior in male mice, and the purpose of Experiment 5 was to determine whether 5-HTP treatment could restore normal levels of aggression. No significant effect was found. The data suggest that a dual mechanism is needed to explain the behavioral abnomalities seen in the two sexes; the mechanism in the female appears to be serotonergic while that in the male is still unknown.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate deficiency in uremic undialyzed, hemodialyzed, and non-uremic kidney transplant patients.

In this study, we have investigated plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) concentrations in undialyzed and dialyzed uremic patients and in kidney transplant subjects, using an enzymatic technique with thermal deproteinization to liberate PLP from plasma proteins. The specificity of the reaction indicates no interference with pyridoxal and only 3% interference with pyridoxamine phosphate. In 17 hemodialyzed patients, a deficiency of about 50% of plasma PLP concentration is found as compared to 25 healthy subjects (22.2 +/- 2.47 vs. 48.8 +/- 3.00 nmol . l-1), as mean +/- SEM). In seven undialyzed uremic patients with end-stage renal failure, the plasma PLP concentration is also decreased (29.3 +/- 1.74 nmol . l-1). The absence of PLP in plasma ultrafiltrates demonstrates that no loss of PLP occurs due to hemodialysis. The daily oral supplementation with 250-750 mg pyridoxal induces a supraphysiological increase in plasma PLP concentration in hemodialyzed as well as in undialyzed patients. In 116 non-uremic kidney transplant subjects, the mean plasma PLP concentration was 33.8 +/- 3.50 nmol . l-1). In 65% of these patients, a marked deficit (below 20 nmol . l-1) was observed. In conclusion, uremic patients have a deficient vitamin B6 state. Its correction with pyridoxal to restore physiological plasma PLP concentration necessitates oral supplementation with lower doses that those widely used at present. In kidney transplant patients a similar plasma PLP deficiency is observed in the absence of chronic renal failure.

Adult↗

A simple, sensitive and reproducible assay for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and 4-pyridoxic acid in human plasma.

We describe a procedure for the measurement of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and of 4-pyridoxic acid in human plasma samples. It is based on the conversion of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate to 4-pyridoxic acid 5'-phosphate by cyanide in alkaline medium, followed by a high pressure liquid chromatographic separation, with fluorescence detection at acid pH. The assay is robust, sensitive, linear over a wide range, reproducible, and simple to perform. Samples stored at -80 degrees C are stable. Satisfactory agreement was obtained with results from the tyrosine decarboxylase-based assay for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, in two other laboratories. Plasma samples from a National Survey of older British people were analyzed, and reference intervals for plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate intervals were derived. From the lower 2.5 percentile of the reference group, taken as the lower cut-off of the normal range, ca. 20% of elderly men and 11% of elderly women in the UK showed evidence of biochemical deficiency.

Aged↗

Difference in topology and numbers of barosensitive catecholaminergic and cholinergic neurons in the medulla between SHR and WKY rats.

We hypothesized that there may be a significant difference in the neuronal composition of the baroreceptor reflex pathway between normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive SHR rats. Using the double-immunoreactive (IR) method, the topology and numbers of barosensitive neurons that contain glutamate (Glu), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) were compared between the two strains. The control rats were sham-operated only for cannulation of the trachea and femoral artery/vein. The test rats were injected with the pressor agent phenylephrine to raise blood pressure and stimulate arterial baroreceptors. In both the control and test experiments, the c-Fos/Glu-, GAD-, TH- and PNMT-IR neurons were found in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and ventrolateral medulla (VLM), while the FosB/ChAT-IR neurons were found in the NTS, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMX) and nucleus ambiguus (AMB). In the control experiment, no significant difference in numbers was recognized in any of the double-IR neurons between the two strains. In the test experiment, the numbers of FosB/ChAT-IR neurons in the NTS, DMX and AMB were significantly smaller in SHR than in WKY. The numbers of c-Fos/TH-IR neurons in the caudal VLM were significantly larger in SHR than in WKY. These results suggest that a smaller number of barosensitive cholinergic neurons in the DMX and AMB in SHR causes the weaker baroreceptor-cardiac vagal reflex in SHR, and that a larger number of barosensitive catecholaminergic neurons in the caudal VLM in SHR are involved in the stronger baroreceptor-vasopressin reflex in SHR.

Animals↗

Co-culture of hypothalamic neurons and melanotrope cells: a model to study synaptogenesis between central neurons and endocrine cells.

As a first step towards elucidating mechanisms involved in neuroendocrine synaptogenesis, we developed a model of co-culture based on hypothalamic-intermediate pituitary interactions. Dissociated hypothalamic neurons from fetal rats at embryonic day 15 were cultured in a defined medium together with melanotrope cells of the pituitary intermediate lobe from neonatal rats. In these co-cultures, establishment of synaptic contacts between GABAergic or dopaminergic neurons and an endocrine target cell the melanotrope cell, was studied by morphofunctional approaches. Using double immunostaining with antibodies directed against glutamate decarboxylase or tyrosine hydroxylase and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, we demonstrated morphological contacts between GABAergic or dopaminergic neurons and melanotrope cells as early as three days in vitro. Furthermore, using an antibody directed against synapsin I, we showed a modification of synapsin I immunoreactivity from diffuse to punctate distribution correlated with the establishment of contacts and the observation of characteristic neuroendocrine synapses by electron microscopy. These results were further confirmed by electrophysiological studies. Patch-clamp recordings demonstrated that, at six days in vitro, some melanotrope cells displayed GABAergic synaptic currents, which occurred either spontaneously and/or could be evoked chemically by 50 mM KCl or 100 microM kainate. The proportion of the melanotrope cells receiving functional synaptic inputs increased until 10 days in culture, a stage at which virtually all melanotrope cells in contact with neurons possessed functional synapses. The results presented here describe the establishment of neuroendocrine synapses in vitro, studied by combining morphofunctional and electrophysiological approaches.

Animals↗