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TRANS‐SULPHURATION IN PRIMATE BRAIN: REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF METHIONINE‐ACTIVATING ENZYME IN THE BRAIN OF THE RHESUS MONKEY AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Author(s) -
Volpe J. J.,
Laster L.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1970.tb02228.x
Subject(s) - white matter , grey matter , cerebellum , methionine , biology , enzyme , enzyme assay , spinal cord , corpus callosum , biochemistry , medicine , endocrinology , anatomy , neuroscience , amino acid , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
—The regional distribution of methionine‐activating enzyme (ATP:l‐methionine S ‐adenosyltransferase; EC 2.4.2.13) in the brain of the Rhesus monkey was determined at various stages of development. Activity of the methionine‐activating enzyme was highest in pituitary gland, cerebellum and occipital grey matter, and lowest in areas rich in white matter: spinal cord, subcortical white matter, corpus callosum and optic chiasm. There was no marked change in activity in any area during development from the first‐trimester foetus to the juvenile animal. During the same period of development, activity of the methionine‐activating enzyme in the liver increased approximately four‐fold. The findings are discussed in relation to those transmethylating enzymes and/or methylated products which have been studied in mammalian brain. The presence of high activity of the methionine‐activating enzyme in cerebellum and occipital grey matter suggests that previously unrecognized methylating processes may be important in the metabolism of these areas of brain.