Premium
Carnosine Synthesis in Olfactory Tissue During Ontogeny: Effect of Exogenous β‐Alanine
Author(s) -
Margolis E. L.,
Grill M.,
Kawano T.,
Farbman A. I.
Publication year - 1985
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.1471-4159.1985.tb08783.x
Subject(s) - carnosine , biology , anserine , olfactory mucosa , olfactory bulb , olfaction , olfactory system , biochemistry , fetus , ontogeny , medicine , endocrinology , enzyme , central nervous system , neuroscience , histidine , pregnancy , genetics
Carnosine has now been demonstrated by chemical analysis to be present in rat olfactory mucosa on day 16 of gestation. The tissue content of this dipeptide then increases progressively during fetal and postnatal life. Radioactive carnosine can be isolated from cultured embryonic rat olfactory mucosa incubated with [ 14 C]β‐alanine as early as 13–14 days of gestation. The amount of incorporation also increases progressively with the initial age of the explant and with time in culture indicating in vitro maturation of the carnosine synthesis capability of olfactory tissue. To test whether the level of β‐alanine was limiting the synthesis of carnosine, we evaluated the effect of elevated β‐alanine levels on tissue carnosine content. Exogenous β‐alanine caused an increase in the tissue content of carnosine at several ages in vivo and in vitro. In adult animals this increase was observed in olfactory bulb, olfactory muscosa, and skeletal muscle. However, there was no associated alteration in carnosine synthetase activity. In addition, the different half‐lives of carnosine in olfactory tissue and muscle seemed unaltered, arguing against any effect on degradative enzymes. Thus, tissue carnosine levels are regulated, at least in part, by substrate availability. The early appearance of carnosine synthetic capacity during prenatal development indicates that this enzyme activity should be a valuable aid in studying early events in olfactory neuron maturation.