Dopamine methylation

The chemical reactions used to prepare mammalian isoquinolines, shown in Fig. 21, are as follows. Condensation of dopamine methyl ether... 

Butanone 1-Butene Chloroethane Cyclopentane Dopamine Methyl butanoate Propanoic acid Toluene... 

Dopamine. Dopamine (DA) (2) is an intermediate in the synthesis of NE and Epi from tyrosine. DA is localized to the basal ganglia of the brain and is involved in the regulation of motor activity and pituitary hormone release. The actions of DA are terminated by conversion to dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) by monoamine oxidase-A and -B (MAO-A and -B) in the neuron following reuptake, or conversion to homovanillic acid (HVA) through the sequential actions of catechol-0-methyl transferase (COMT) and MAO-A and -B in the synaptic cleft. 

Methyldopa, through its metaboHte, CX-methyInorepinephrine formed in the brain, acts on the postsynaptic tt2-adrenoceptor in the central nervous system. It reduces the adrenergic outflow to the cardiovascular system, thereby decreasing arterial blood pressure. If the conversion of methyldopa to CX-methyl norepinephrine in the brain is prevented by a dopamine -hydroxylase inhibitor capable of penetrating into the brain, it loses its antihypertensive effects. 

An additional benefit of COMT inhibitors can be found in positron emission tomography (PET) studies. In PET, using 6-[18F]-fluoro-L-dopa (6-FD) to visualize the brain dopamine metabolism, the peripheral formation of 3-0-methyl-6-[18F]-fluoro-L-dopa (3-OMFD) by COMT is harmful. 3-OMFD contaminates the brain radioactivity analysed since it is easily transported like 3-OMD to the... 

The principal mechanism for terminating dopamine signaling is reuptake by the presynaptic neuron via the dopamine transporter (DAT). Dopamine that is not taken up is metabolized by the enzymes monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyl transferase... 

MAO converts dopamine to DOPAC (3,4-dihydrox-yphenylacetic acid), which can be further metabolized by COMT to form homovanillic acid (HVA). HVA is the main product of dopamine metabolism and the principal dopamine metabolite in urine. Increased neuronal dopaminergic activity is associated with increases in plasma concentrations of DOPAC and HVA. COMT preferentially methylates dopamine at the 3 -hydroxyl position and utilizes S-adenosyl-L-methio-nine as a methyl group donor. COMT is expressed widely in the periphery and in glial cells. In PD, COMT has been targeted since it can convert l-DOPA to inactive 3-OMD (3-O-methyl-dopa). In the presence of an AADC inhibitor such as carbidopa, 3-OMD is the major metabolite of l-DOPA treatment. 

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. 

There are few reports on the effects of nitrous oxide on dopaminergic neurotransmission. A study in mice showed that nitrous oxide inhalation produced a significant increase in locomotor activity that was antagonized in a dose-dependent fashion by the dopamine synthesis inhibitor a-methyl-/)-tyrosine (Hynes and Berkowitz 1983). Moreover, administration of the D2 antagonist haloperidol also reduced the locomotor activity induced by nitrous oxide (Hynes and Berkowitz 1983). These results suggest that excitatory effects induced by nitrous oxide may be also mediated by dopaminergic neurotransmission. However, other studies have reported that exposure to nitrous oxide resulted in decreased dopamine release by neurons in the striatum (Balon et al. 2002 Turle et al. 1998). 

Neural cells convert tyrosine to epinephrine and norepinephrine (Figure 31—5). While dopa is also an intermediate in the formation of melanin, different enzymes hydroxylate tyrosine in melanocytes. Dopa decarboxylase, a pyridoxai phosphate-dependent enzyme, forms dopamine. Subsequent hydroxylation by dopamine P-oxidase then forms norepinephrine. In the adrenal medulla, phenylethanolamine-A -methyltransferase uti-hzes S-adenosyhnethionine to methylate the primary amine of norepinephrine, forming epinephrine (Figure 31-5). Tyrosine is also a precursor of triiodothyronine and thyroxine (Chapter 42). 

The enzyme /i-phenylethanolamine-A-methyl transferase, which is required to convert noradrenaline (NA) to adrenaline (Ad), is present in the CNS and there is histofluoro-metric evidence (positive staining with antibodies to that enzyme and to tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine /i-hydroxylase as well) for adrenergic cell bodies in two groups (nuclei) alongside NA neurons of the locus coeruleus (EC) but ventral and lateral (Ci) and dorsal and medial (C2) to it. Projections go to the hypothalamus and in... 

Derivatives of (S) N-[(l-ethyl-2-pyrrohdinyl)methyl]-6-methoxy benzamide 3 are dopamine D2 receptor antagonists. Samanta et al. obtained the following MLR QSAR for 49 derivatives with the general structure 3 [30] ... 

It could not be anticipated that the extension of the alpha-methyl of MDMA to an alpha-ethyl would also attenuate the effects of the compound on dopaminergic pathways in the brain. In contrast to MDMA, MBDB has no significant effect either on inhibition of uptake of dopamine into striatal synaptosomes (Steele et al. 1987) or on release of dopamine from caudate... 

The reinforeing properties of psychomotor stimulants have also been linked to the aetivation of eentral dopamine neurons and their postsynaptie reeep-tors. When the synthesis of eatecholamines is inhibited by administering alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine, an attenuation of the subjective effeets of euphoria assoeiated with psyehomotor stimulants oeeurs in man (Jonsson et al. 1971), and a bloekade of the reinforeing effects of methamphetamine occurs in animals (Pickens et al. 1968). Furthermore, low doses of dopamine antagonists will increase response rates for intravenous injections of h-amphetamine (Risner and Jones 1976 Yokel and Wise 1975 Yokel and Wise 1976). 

The neurotoxic effects of all these compounds are antagonized by inhibitors of monoamine uptake (table 1), implicating the membrane uptake carrier on serotonin and dopamine neurons in the mechanism of neurotoxicity. In this regard, these amphetamines are like a drug somewhat related in structure, namely l-methyl-4-phenyl-l,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a Parkinsonism-causing neurotoxic dmg that has been studied intensely since 1983 (Langston and Irwin 1986). In the case of MPTP, the mechanism by which inhibitors of the dopamine uptake carrier block the neurotoxicity toward dopamine neurons (mainly nigrostriatal dopamine neurons) seems clear. A metabolite of MPTP, l-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP-I-), has been shown to be a substrate for the dopamine uptake carrier (Javitch et al. 1985). Thus accumulation of MPP-I-, formed metabolically from... 

Javitch, J.A. D Amato, R.J. Strittmatter, S.M. and Snyder, S.H. Parkinsonism-inducing neurotoxin, N-methyl-4-pheny 1-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine Uptake of the metabolite N-methyl-4-phenylpyridine by dopamine neurons explains selective toxicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 82 2173-2177, 1985. 

The administration of low doses of PCP to rodents induces hyperactivity and stereotypy (Chen et al. 1959 ). The observation that neuroleptics such as chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and pimozide, and adrenolytics such as alpha-methyl paratyrosine antagonize these behavioral effects of PCP suggests that they are mediated by facilitation of central dopaminergic neurotransmission (Murray and Horita 1979). The actions of PCP on central dopaminergic neurotransmission may be similar to amphetamine. A dose of PCP (2.5 mg/kg) in rats, which has no effects when given alone, enhances the behavioral effects of 1 and 3 mg/kg of d-amphetamine (Balster and Chait 1978). PCP, like dopamine, has also been shown to suppress plasma prolactin (Bayorh et al. 1983). However, the firm establishment of an excl usive relationship between dopamine neuro-transmission and PCP effects is difficult because of the prominent interactions of this drug with other neurotransmitter systems. 

Ach, acetylcholine CNS, central nervous system CD, carbidopa COMT, catechol-O-methyltransferase D1, a class of dopamine receptors which includes D, and D5 subtypes D2, a class of dopamine receptors which includes D2, D3, and D4 subtypes DA, dopamine LD, levodopa MAO, monoamine oxidase MD, maintenance dose NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartate. 

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