Dopamine generation

Other surface modification reactions that are relevant to biological studies include the binding of the blood anticoagulent, heparin,189 and of dopamine190 to polyphosp-hazene surfaces. The heparin immobilization brought about a five-fold increase in the coagulation time of blood, and the immobilized dopamine generated the same response in rat pituitary cells as did free dopamine. 

Future Outlook for Antidepressants. Third-generation antidepressants are expected to combine superior efficacy and improved safety, but are unlikely to reduce the onset of therapeutic action in depressed patients (179). Many dmgs in clinical development as antidepressive agents focus on estabhshed properties such as inhibition of serotonin, dopamine, and/or noradrenaline reuptake, agonistic or antagonistic action at various serotonin receptor subtypes, presynaptic tt2-adrenoceptor antagonism, or specific monoamine—oxidase type A inhibition. Examples include buspirone (3) (only... 

Together with dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline belong to the endogenous catecholamines that are synthesized from the precursor amino acid tyrosine (Fig. 1). In the first biosynthetic step, tyrosine hydroxylase generates l-DOPA which is further converted to dopamine by the aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase ( Dopa decarboxylase). Dopamine is transported from the cytosol into synaptic vesicles by a vesicular monoamine transporter. In sympathetic nerves, vesicular dopamine (3-hydroxylase generates the neurotransmitter noradrenaline. In chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla, approximately 80% of the noradrenaline is further converted into adrenaline by the enzyme phenylethanolamine-A-methyltransferase. 

Genetic disruption of dopamine synthesis in mice lacking TH shows that dopamine is not essential for development. However, dopamine deficient mice do not survive long after weaning unless treated with l-DOPA. These mice display severe aphagia and adipsia and loss of motor function. While these mice have a major reduction in dopamine levels some residual dopamine can be detected that is generated through the action of tyrosinases. 

Psychostimulants. Figure 2 Dopamine molecules have two different possible targets. Both ways are initially increased by DAT inhibition caused by methylphenidate pre- and postsynaptic dopamine receptors. Stimulation of postsynaptic receptors results in inhibition of presynaptic action potential generation. On the other hand, presynaptic receptor stimulation leads to a transmission inhibition of action potentials. Therefore, both mechanisms are responsible for a decrease in vesicular depletion of dopamine into the synaptic cleft (adapted from [2]). 

Trace Amines. Figure 1 The main routes of trace amine metabolism. The trace amines (3-phenylethylamine (PEA), p-tyramine (TYR), octopamine (OCT) and tryptamine (TRP), highlighted by white shading, are each generated from their respective precursor amino acids by decarboxylation. They are rapidly metabolized by monoamine oxidase (MAO) to the pharmacologically inactive carboxylic acids. To a limited extent trace amines are also A/-methylated to the corresponding secondary amines which are believed to be pharmacologically active. Abbreviations AADC, aromatic amino acid decarboxylase DBH, dopamine b-hydroxylase NMT, nonspecific A/-methyltransferase PNMT, phenylethanolamine A/-methyltransferase TH, tyrosine hydroxylase. 

Marker, H.S., Weiss, C., Silides, D.J., and Cohen, G. (1981). Coupling of dopamine oxidation (monoamine oxidase activity) to glutathione oxidation via the generation of hydrogen peroxide in rat brain homogenates. J. Neurochem. 36, 589-593. 

Ricaurte, G.A. Guillery, R.W. Seiden, L.S. and Schuster, C.R. Nerve terminal generation after a single injection of dopamine depletion. Brain Res 291 378-382, 1984. 

Aripiprazole was formulated in the early 1980s to function as a potential dopamine modulator, with both antagonist and agonist activity at the D2 receptor. It is the first D2 partial agonist available for the treatment of schizophrenia and is sometimes referred to as a third-generation antipsychotic. This novel mechanism is... 

Figure 4. DDC (A), serotonin (B), and tyrosine hydroxylase (C) immunore-activity in the posterior region of a wild-type Drosophila ventral ganglion. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) encodes the rate-limiting step in dopamine biosynthesis and is a marker for dopamine cells. B and C are the same CNS assayed for both serotonin and TH. M, medial dopamine neurons VL, ventrolateral serotonin neurons DL, dorsolateral dopamine neurons. Short unmarked arrows in C show vacuolated cells that do not contain DDC immunoreactivity. The immunoreactivity in these cells may represent a nonspecific cross-reactivity of the rat TH antibody. The length bar in A is 50 pM. The images are confocal projections generated on a Molecular Dynamics-2000 confocal laser scanning microscope.

Chiueh, C.C., Miyake, J., Peng, M.T. Role of dopamine autoxidation, hydroxyl radical generation, and calcium overload in underlying mechanisms involved in MPTP-induced parkinsonism. Adv. Neurol. 60 251, 1993. 

Fishbum C., Belleli D., David C., Cannon S., Fuchs S. A novel short isoform of the D3 dopamine receptor generated by alternative splicing in the third cytoplasmic loop. J. Biol. Chem. 268 5872, 1993. 

In neurochemical terms, amphetamine and cocaine boost monoamine activity. Amphetamine has a threefold mode of action first, it causes dopamine and noradrenaline to leak into the synaptic cleft second, it boosts the amount of transmitter released during an action potential and third, it inhibits the reuptake of neurotransmitter back into presynaptic vesicles. These three modes all result in more neurotransmitter being available at the synapse, thus generating an increase in postsynaptic stimulation. Cocaine exerts a similar overall effect, but mainly by reuptake inhibition. The main neurotransmitters affected are dopamine and noradrenaline, although serotonin is boosted to a lesser extent. These modes of action are outlined in Chapter 3, and the neurochemical rationale for drug tolerance is covered more fully in Chapter 10. The main differences between amphetamine and cocaine are their administration routes (summarised above) and the more rapid onset and shorter duration of action for cocaine. 

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