Premium
5‐HYDROXY‐ l ‐TRYPTOPHAN DECARBOXYLASE ACTIVITY: MICROASSAY AND DISTRIBUTION IN DISCRETE RAT BRAIN NUCLEI
Author(s) -
Saavedra J. M.
Publication year - 1976
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.1471-4159.1976.tb01515.x
Subject(s) - tryptophan , serotonin , aromatic l amino acid decarboxylase , decarboxylase inhibitor , chemistry , enzyme , enzyme assay , glutamate decarboxylase , biochemistry , specific activity , nucleus , biology , medicine , neuroscience , amino acid , levodopa , receptor , disease , parkinson's disease
— 5‐Hydroxy‐ l ‐tryptophan decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.28) activity was measured in discrete regions of the rat brain by means of a sensitive micromethod lhat allows the quantitation of enzyme activity in μg amounts of brain tissue. A good correlation was obtained between serotonin levels and 5‐hydroxy‐ l ‐tryptophan decarboxylase activity in all the brain regions examined. Wide differences in enzyme activity were found in the different brain nuclei, with a 20‐fold difference in activity between the most active region (the nucleus raphe dorsalis) and the least active regions (the corpus callosum and the optic tract).