Metabolism Of 3H-noradrenaline Research Articles

Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine on noradrenaline metabolism linked to neuronal uptake1 and extraneuronal uptake1 in dental pulp in vitro

The study was undertaken to determine the relative roles of neuronal and extraneuronal uptake1 in the metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline in human dental pulp. Rabbit dental pulp was used as a reference since it was already known that normetanephrine (NMN) formation in this tissue utilised extraneuronal uptake1. Slices of pulp were preincubated in the absence and presence of 6-hydroxydopamine (1.6 mmol/l, for 10 or 20 min at pH 4.5) and subsequently incubated with 3H-noradrenaline (0.18 mumol/l for 30 min at pH 7.4). The principal metabolites formed were normetanephrine in rabbit pulp and deaminated catechols (dihydroxymandelic acid and dihydroxyphenylglycol) in human pulp. In both tissues 6-hydroxydopamine strongly inhibited formation of the deaminated catechols, but was without effect on normetanephrine formation. It is concluded that: i) in vitro 6-hydroxydopamine does not influence the metabolic process which is dependent on extraneuronal uptake1, namely normetanephrine formation in rabbit dental pulp, and ii) the deaminated catechols are largely neuronal in origin in human pulp. Attention is drawn to an unusual feature of the neuronal metabolism in human pulp, namely the appearance of dihydroxymandelic acid as the principal metabolite.

Evidence for uptake2-mediated O-methylation of noradrenaline in the human amnion FL cell-line

The uptake and metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline has been examined in the FL cell-line derived originally from human amnion. Cell cultures metabolised 3H-noradrenaline (1.0 mumol/l) to 3H-normetanephrine and, to a lesser extent, to metabolites (not distinguished) of the O-methylated deaminated fraction; primary deaminated metabolites were not detected. 3H-normetanephrine formation a) was not saturable in the noradrenaline concentration range 0.2-150 mumol/l, b) was decreased to 20%-30% of control levels by uptake2 inhibitors (O-methylisoprenaline, 20 and 100 mumol/l; cimetidine, 10 mumol/l; hydrocortisone, 200 mumol/l) and c), was almost insensitive to uptake1 inhibitors (cocaine, 30 mumol/l; desipramine, 3 mumol/l). Uptake of noradrenaline was manifested after 30 minutes as a 6-fold increase in the cell content of the amine following inhibition of catechol-O-methyl transferase, either alone or in conjunction with inhibition of monoamine oxidase. Uptake was decreased maximally to 40% of control levels by O-methylisoprenaline. IC50 values for inhibition of the O-methylisoprenaline-sensitive component of uptake were (in mumol/l): corticosterone (0.3), papaverine (1.1), O-methylisoprenaline (3.0), cimetidine (6.0), (-)noradrenaline (460), and tetraethylammonium (2230). Except for the last agent, for which a comparative value is not available, the IC50's are in good agreement with those for inhibition of uptake2 in the Caki-1 cell-line reported by other investigators. The component of uptake resistant to O-methylisoprenaline was depressed by papaverine (a 50% decrease at 50 mumol/l), but was not affected by the other uptake2 inhibitors or by cocaine (30 mumol/l).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of chlorpromazine on the metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline released from rabbit aorta.

The effect of chlorpromazine on the metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline (3H-NA) released spontaneously or by electrical-field stimulation was studied on the rabbit isolated aorta preloaded with 3H-NA. Chlorpromazine (10(-6) M) neither altered the spontaneous outflow of total tritium nor had any major effect on the distribution of the 3H-outflow on 3H-NA and its 3H-metabolites. Chlorpromazine (10(-6) M) altered the distribution in stimulation-evoked 3H-overflow. Thus, 3H-NA and 3H-NMN were increased, 3H-DOPEG was markedly decreased and 3H-DOMA and 3H-OMDA were unchanged. It is concluded that chlorpromazine is an inhibitor of uptake-1.

Stereoselectivity in the metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline during uptake into and efflux from the isolated rat vas deferens.

1. The metabolism of 3H-(-)- and 3H-(±)-noradrenaline (NA) was studied in the isolated rat vas deferens either under conditions of uptake or of efflux of the amine. Any differences obtained between 3H-(-)-and 3H-(±)NA as substrate were interpreted as being a reflection of differences between the two isomers of the amine. 2. Uptake experiments (0.13 μM; 7.5 min) showed that neuronal mechanisms of amine disposition prevail over extraneuronal ones. Thus, most of the metabolites of 3H-NA formed during incubation with the amine (including the O-methylated products) were of neuronal origin. The acid deaminated metabolite 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid (DOMA), tended to be much better retained by the tissue than the neutral deaminated metabolite, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (DOPEG). While neuronal uptake exhibited no stereoselectivity, a pronounced stereoselectivity was found for monoamine oxidase (MAO) [(-)NA> (+)NA] as well as for the enzymes which are in series with MAO, namely, aldehyde reductase and aldehyde dehydrogenase [(-)DOPEG> (+)DOPEG; (-)DOMA <(+)DOMA]. 3. After about 2 h of washout, the efflux of radioactivity from the tissue [which was previously incubated for 30 min with 1.2 μM of either 3H-(-)- or 3H-(±)NA] originated from one neuronal compartment with no stereoselectivity of the rate constant for the efflux of total tritium. The rate-limiting step for the neuronal efflux of tritium resided either in the net efflux of amine from the storage vesicles (normal tissues) or in the net efflux across the axonal membrane (tissues with the amine metabolizing enzymes inhibited). The effects of cocaine and phenoxybenzamine on the neuronal efflux of tritiated compounds strongly depended on the intraneuronal distribution of the 3H-amine. The results indicate that cocaine has only one site of action (neuronal uptake), while phenoxybenzamine exerts reserpine-like as well as cocaine-like effects. 4. The neuronal efflux of tritium from normal tissues preloaded with 3H-(-)- or 3H-(±)NA consisted mainly of amine metabolites (90% of the total; most of this was DOPEG). Since after 2 h of washout the tissue contained hardly any metabolites, these metabolites did not represent pre-formed metabolites (formed during the period of preloading) but newly formed metabolites resulting from the catabolism of the neuronally stored amine. This catabolism was brought about through the activity of presynaptic enzymes and was stereoselective in that more DOPEG, less DOMA and less O-methylated metabolites were formed from (-)-than from (+)NA.

Uptake and accumulation in vitro of 3H-noradrenaline in adrenergic nerves of human atrium.

The adrenergic innervation and the in vitro uptake of 3H-noradrenaline has been investigated in human atrial tissue slices from patients undergoing thoracic surgery. The atrial appendage was richly innervated, but the density of the adrenergic nerve plexus varied considerably between different tissues examined. The nerve terminals were of characteristic varicose appearance, running singly or in bundles along the long axis of the muscle fibers. The nerve fibers seemed to penetrate in between the muscle cells. The distribution and appearance of the adrenergic nerves were quite similar to those described in earlier investigations of heart tissue from other species. The uptake and accumulation of 3H-noradrenaline in vitro increased with increasing concentration in the medium and with time, and the uptake process could efficiently be blocked by desmethylimipramine (DMI), a potent inhibitor of the uptake mechanism located at the axonal membrane, the so called ‘membrane pump’. There was a true accumulation of 3H-noradrenaline in the atrial tissue during the incubation, compared to the medium. The metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline during the incubation has also been studied. The data presented speak in favour of the view that the adrenergic nerves of human atria possess an efficient uptake accumulation mechanism for noradrenaline.