Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA and activity and concentrations of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and catecholamines were examined as markers of sympathetic innervation and catecholamine synthesis in peripheral tissues of sympathectomized and intact rats. Chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) markedly decreased norepinephrine and to a generally lesser extent TH activities and dopamine in most peripheral tissues (stomach, lung, testis, duodenum, pancreas, salivary gland, spleen, heart, kidney, thymus). Superior cervical ganglia, adrenals and descending aorta were unaffected and vas deferens showed a large 92% decrease in norepinephrine, but only a small 38% decrease in TH activity after 6-OHDA.
Minoru Kawamura1, 2, Joan P. Schwartz1, Takuo Nomura1, Irwin J. Kopin1, David S. Goldstein1, Thanh-Truc Huynh1, Douglas R. Hooper1, Judith Harvey-White1 and Graeme Eisenhofer1
| (1) | Clinical Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892 |
| (2) | Institute of Bio-Active Science, Nippon Zoki Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Hyogo, 673-14, Japan |
Volume 24, Number 1 / January, 1999Journal
Neurochemical Research