Abstract
This chapter focuses on studies on the mechanism of regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity during nerve stimulation. Most of the studies on the regulation of TH activity in adrenergic neurons have been performed with either mouse vas deferens preparations or the hypogastric nerve-vas deferens preparation of the guinea-pig. These tissues contain short adrenergic neurons and the entire cell body, axon and nerve terminals are present intact in the isolated preparations of these tissues. For this reason these tissues may represent a more appropriate model system of in vivo adrenergic neuronal metabolism and, in particular, they may provide a model for central adrenergic neurons, most of which are much shorter than the bulk of the neurons of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system. The properties of the enzymes of the mouse vas deferens preparation and the guinea-pig vas deferens preparation are very similar. Both enzymes have a higher affinity for tetrahydrobiopterin than for 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin. The guinea-pig vas deferens tissue is capable of converting both tyrosine and phenylalanine to catecholamines, although tyrosine is much the preferred substrate.
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