Adaptations of neurotransmitter synthesis to chronic hypoxia in cell culture

Tyrosine hydroxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase are widely held to be rate-limiting for the synthesis of the catecholamines and serotonin, respectively. Both enzymes are oxygen-requiring and kinetic properties suggest that oxygen availability may limit synthesis of these neurotransmitters in the brain. Using pheochromocytoma cells as a cell culture model for catecholamine synthesis, and neuroblastoma cells as a model for serotonin synthesis, enzyme activity was measured under control and hypoxic conditions. Both tyrosine hydroxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase activity increased substantially with chronic exposure but not with acute exposure. In the case of tyrosine hydroxylase, increased enzyme content with hypoxia accounts for increased activity. This suggests a mechanism for the maintenance of neurotransmitter synthesis with chronic hypoxia. Measurement of intracellular metabolites revealed no change in dopamine or norepinephrine in hypoxic pheochromocytoma cells, consistent with a simple adaptive mechanism. However, in neuroblastoma cells, hypoxia was associated with an increase in serotonin concentration. The reasons for this are still unclear.     

Correlation between tyrosine hydroxylase activity and catecholamine concentration or turnover in brain regions.

Tyrosine hydroxylase activity correlated significantly with norepinephrine concentration and turnover, when results from regions containing predominantly noradrenergic terminals were compared, and with dopamine concentration and turnover when results from regions containing predominantly dopaminergic terminals were compared. Regions containing dopamine or norepinephrine cell bodies were characterized by higher tyrosine hydroxylase activities as compared to regions containing mostly nerve terminals. Higher levels of tyrosine hydroxylase activity and transmitter turnover were observed in regions containing dopaminergic terminals than in regions containing norepinephrine terminals. These findings are consistent with the view that tyrosine hydroxylase activity is linked to rates of catecholamine utilization by neurons in the CNS.     

TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE IN RAT BRAIN: DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract— The development of tyrosine hydroxylase (tyrosine 3-hydroxylase, EC 1.14.3.a) activity has been examined in whole rat brain and in various regions and subcellular fractions thereof. The specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase increased almost 15-fold from 15 days of gestation to adulthood. With maturation, those regions of the brain that contain only terminals of the catecholaminergic neurons showed the greatest increases in enzyme activity. There was a shift in the subcellular distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase from the soluble fraction in the fetal brain to the synaptosomal fraction in the adult brain. Tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.2.1) and the specific uptake mechanism for norepinephrine appear to develop in a coordinated fashion.     

Feedback Inhibition of Tyrosine Hydroxylase from Five Regions of Rat Brain by 2-Hydroxyestradiol and Dihy droxy pheny lalanine

Abstract: Inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase from five regions of rat brain by a model catecholamine, DOPA and a model catecholestrogen, 2-hydroxyestradiol, was examined. Tyrosine hydroxylase preparations from amygdala, preoptic, hypothalamic, striatal and hippocampal regions were freed of small molecules by gel filtration before use. The feedback inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase by the two model catechols was studied using a spectrum of reduced pterin cofactors, including tetrahydrobiopterin, 6-methyl-tetrahydropterin and 6, 7-dimethyltetrahydropterin. Micromolar levels of either inhibitor produced marked inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase from all regions when subsaturating levels of the endogenous cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin, were used.     

Central and peripheral changes in catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in rats after a short period of ozone exposure

We investigated in rat the effects of ozone exposure (0.7 ppm) for 5 h on the catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in sympathetic efferents and various brain areas. For this purpose, the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, was assessed in superior cervical ganglia and in two major noradrenergic cell groups, A2 and A6 (locus coeruleus). Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was estimated in vivo by measuring the accumulation of l-dihydroxyphenylalanine after pharmacological blockade of L-aromatic acid decarboxylases by NSD-1015 (100 mg/kg i.p.). The catecholamine turnover rate was measured after inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase by alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT, 250 mg/kg, i.p., 2.5 h) in peripheral sympathetic target organ (heart and lungs) as well as in some brain catecholamine terminal areas (cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and striatum). Ozone caused differential effects according to the structure. Catecholamine biosynthesis was stimulated in superior cervical ganglia (+44%, P < 0.05) and caudal A2 subset (+126%, P < 0.01), whereas catecholamine turnover was increased in heart (+183%, P < 0.01) and cortex (+22%, P < 0.05). On the other hand, catecholamine turnover was inhibited in lungs (-53%, P < 0.05) and striatum (-24%, P < 0.05). A brief exposure to ozone, at a concentration chosen to mimic pollution level encountered in urban areas, can modulate catecholamine biosynthesis and utilization rate in the sympathetic and central neurones.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase regulation in the central nervous system

Tyrosine hydroxylase is considered to be the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of catecholamines in both the central and peripheral nervous system. Increased or decreased neuronal activity, stress, lesions, drug effects, endocrinological manipulations and experimental models of hypertension are associated with alterations in tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the central nervous system. In many of these instances, the changes in the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in the central nervous system that occur are localized to discrete catecholaminergic pathways and nuclei in the brain. The purpose of this review is to summarize and assess this information and to provide insight into the function of catecholamine systems in the brain and their interactions with other putative neurotransmitter systems.     

Sustained phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase at serine 40: a novel mechanism for maintenance of catecholamine synthesis

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis. Its activity is known to be controlled acutely (minutes) by phosphorylation and chronically (days) by protein synthesis. Using bovine adrenal chromaffin cells we found that nicotine, acting via nicotinic receptors, sustained the phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 for up to 48 h. Nicotine also induced sustained activation of TH, which for the first 24 h was completely independent of TH protein synthesis, and the phosphorylation of TH at Ser31. Imipramine did not inhibit the acute phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 or TH activation induced by nicotine, but did inhibit the sustained responses to nicotine seen at 24 h. The protein kinase(s) responsible for TH phosphorylation at Ser40 switched from being protein kinase C (PKC) independent in the acute phase to PKC dependent in the sustained phase. Sustained phosphorylation and activation of TH were also observed with histamine and angiotensin II. Sustained phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 provides a novel mechanism for increasing TH activity and this leads to increased catecholamine synthesis. Sustained phosphorylation of TH may be a selective target for drugs or pathology in neurons that contain TH and synthesize dopamine, noradrenaline or adrenaline.     

Phosphorylation of bovine adrenal chromaffin cell tyrosine hydroxylase. Temporal correlation of acetylcholine's effect on site phosphorylation, enzyme activation, and catecholamine synthesis

Tryptic peptide fragments of tyrosine hydroxylase isolated from 32PO4-prelabeled bovine adrenal chromaffin cells are resolved into seven phosphopeptides by reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography. All seven of the peptides are phosphorylated on serine residues. Three of these putative phosphorylation sites, peptides 3, 5, and 6, are rapidly phosphorylated (5-fold in 15 s) by both acetylcholine stimulation and potassium depolarization of the cells, and this phosphorylation is accompanied by a similarly rapid activation of the enzyme. Both phosphorylation and activation are transient and do not account for the prolonged increase in catecholamine biosynthesis produced by these stimuli. Peptides 4 and 7 show a much slower and sustained increase in phosphorylation (3-fold in 4 min) in response to acetylcholine and potassium. Phosphorylation of these peptides correlates with the sustained increase in catecholamine biosynthesis rather than enzyme activation. Peptides 1 and 2 are not stimulated by any agonist yet employed and thus show no relation to enzyme activation or catecholamine biosynthesis. Phosphorylation of all five peptides by acetylcholine or potassium is calcium-dependent. In contrast to the stimulation of phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase on multiple sites, forskolin stimulates the phosphorylation of only peptide 6, and this is accompanied by a coordinated activation of tyrosine hydroxylase and increased catecholamine biosynthesis. These findings show that the phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase in intact cells is more complex than predicted from in vitro results, that at least two protein kinases are involved in the secretagogue-induced phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase, and that the regulation of catecholamine biosynthesis, in response to phosphorylation, appears to involve both tyrosine hydroxylase activation and other mechanisms.     

Gene Expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Developing Fetal Brain

Tyrosine hydroxylase, aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase activities were studied in the developing fetal rat brain. A delay of 2-3 days between the detection of the tyrosine hydroxylase and the aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase and dopamine beta-hydroxylase activities was observed. For this reason, the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA was studied. Tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA was visualized in the whole brain from 13 days of gestation, but the largest increase of the expression was observed in the hypothalamus. These results are discussed in terms of the relative gene expressions of the three enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of catecholamines and phenolamines in nervous tissues.     

A single RNA species injected in Xenopus oocyte directs the synthesis of active tyrosine hydroxylase

Tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of catecholamine, is a tetramer composed of four subunits of the same molecular mass. A full length cDNA clone encoding tyrosine hydroxylase has been inserted into the SP6 expression system. Translation of the corresponding RNA in Xenopus oocyte results in enzymatic activity, demonstrating that a single gene contains all the necessary genetic information to code for a functional enzyme. The potential of this system in the analysis of posttranslational tyrosine hydroxylase modifications is discussed.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase of the blood leukocytes

Tyrosine hydroxylase activity has been established in blood plasma leucocytes of rat, cat and man. Tyrosine precursors and some nuclear erythroid cells. GFU-GM did hydroxylase activity in leucocytes shows the Km for tyrosine inhibited by high concentrations of L6 tyrosine (substrate inhibition), alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine dopamine. The kinetic properties of leucocyte tyrosine hydroxylase are qualitatively similar to the properties of brain tyrosine hydroxylase.     

The metabolism of L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine by liver cells isolated from adrenalectomized rats and from streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Flux through, and maximal activities of, key enzymes of phenylalanine and tyrosine degradation were measured in liver cells prepared from adrenalectomized rats and from streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Adrenalectomy decreased the phenylalanine hydroxylase flux/activity ratio; this was restored by steroid treatment in vivo. Changes in the phosphorylation state of the hydroxylase may mediate these effects; there was no significant change in the maximal activity of the hydroxylase. Tyrosine metabolism was enhanced by adrenalectomy; this was not related to any change in maximal activity of the aminotransferase. Steroid treatment increased the maximal activity of the aminotransferase. Both acute (3 days) and chronic (10 days) diabetes were associated with increased metabolism of phenylalanine; insulin treatment in vivo did not reverse these changes. Although elevated hydroxylase protein concentration was a major factor, changes in the enzyme phosphorylation state may contribute to differences in phenylalanine degradation in the acute and chronic diabetic states. Tyrosine metabolism, increased by diabetes, was partially restored to normal by insulin treatment in vivo. These changes can, to a large extent, be interpreted in terms of changes in the maximal activity of the aminotransferase.     

Development of the noradrenergic system of the rat brain after prenatal exposure to corticosterone

The influence of corticosterone during the period of tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression (16th–18th days of rat embryogenesis), which is sensitive to hormonal induction, on the ontogenesis of presynaptic markers of the noradrenergic system has been studied. It has been found that hormone-induced changes in the level of noradrenaline and dopamine in the brain cortex and brainstem had a transitive character and were eliminated in adulthood. At the same time, the hormone increased the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in the cortex of 7- to 16-day-old rat pups and in the cortex and brainstem of adult animals. It has been shown that the level of glucocorticoids is an important factor in development of the noradrenergic system of the brain, able during critical periods of ontogenesis to cause sustained changes of its functioning in subsequent periods of life.     

MOUSE BRAIN TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE AND GLUTAMIC ACID DECARBOXYLASE FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIC HORMONE, VASOPRESSIN OR CORTICOSTERONE

The activities of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) from several mouse brain regions were assayed following repeated administration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), lysine vasopressin (LVP) or corticosterone. Although similar treatments with ACTH have been shown to result in changes of catecholamine turnover and GABA content, no changes in the activity of either TH or GAD were observed in any brain region. Likewise LVP had no effect on either enzyme. Since the assays for TH were performed with concentrations of tyrosine and tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor below their respective Michaelis constants, this suggests that the changes of catecholamine turnover are not mediated by changes of TH activity. Twice daily corticosterone adrninistration for four days increased TH activity in the hypothalamus but not in any other brain region.     

Activation of tyrosine hydroxylase by intermittent hypoxia: involvement of serine phosphorylation.

Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by intermittent hypoxia (IH) was investigated in rat pheochromocytoma 12 (PC-12) cells by exposing them to alternating cycles of hypoxia (1% O2, 15 s) and normoxia (21% O2, 3 min) for up to 60 cycles; controls were exposed to normoxia for a similar duration. IH exposure increased dopamine content and TH activity by approximately 42 and approximately 56%, respectively. Immunoblot analysis revealed that comparable levels of TH protein were expressed in normoxic and IH cells. Removal of TH-bound catecholamines and in vitro phosphorylation of TH in cell-free extracts by the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) increased TH activity in normoxic but not in IH cells, suggesting possible induction of TH phosphorylation and removal of endogenous inhibition of TH by IH. To assess the role of serine phosphorylation in IH-induced TH activation, TH immunoprecipitates and extracts derived from normoxic and IH cells were probed with anti-phosphoserine and anti-phospho-TH (Ser-40) antibody, respectively. Compared with normoxic cells, total serine and Ser-40-specific phosphorylation of TH were increased in IH cells. IH-induced activation of TH and the increase in total serine and Ser-40-specific phosphorylation of TH were inhibited by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) and PKA-specific inhibitors but not by inhibitors of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase pathway, suggesting that IH activates TH in PC-12 cells via phosphorylation of serine residues including Ser-40, in part, by CaMK and PKA. Our results also suggest that IH-induced phosphorylation of TH facilitates the removal of endogenous inhibition of TH, leading to increased synthesis of dopamine.     

Enhancement of In Vivo Tyrosine Hydroxylation in the Rat Adrenal Gland Under Hypoxic Conditions

We examined the effects of hypoxia (8% O2) on in vivo tyrosine hydroxylation, a rate-limiting step for catecholamine synthesis, in the rat adrenal gland. The hydroxylation rate was determined by measuring the rate of accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) after decarboxylase inhibition. One hour after hypoxic exposure, DOPA accumulation decreased to 60% of control values, but within 2 h it doubled. At 2 h, the apparent Km values for tyrosine and for biopterin cofactor of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the soluble fraction were unchanged, whereas the Vmax value increased by 30%. The content of total or reduced biopterin was unchanged, but the content of tyrosine increased by 80%. Tyrosine administration had little effect on DOPA accumulation under room air conditions but enhanced DOPA accumulation under hypoxia. After denervation of the adrenal gland, the hypoxia-induced increase in DOPA accumulation and in the Vmax value was abolished, whereas the hypoxia-induced increase in tyrosine content was persistent. These results suggest that in vivo tyrosine hydroxylation is enhanced under hypoxia, although availability of oxygen is reduced. The enhancement is the result of both an increase in tyrosine content coupled with increased sensitivity of TH to changes in tyrosine tissue content and of an increase in dependence of TH on tyrosine levels. The increase in the sensitivity of TH and in the Vmax value is neurally induced, whereas the increase in tyrosine content is regulated by a different mechanism.     

Activation of Retinal Tyrosine Hydroxylase In Vitro by Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase: Characterization and Comparison to Activation In Vivo by Photic Stimulation

Abstract: Tyrosine hydroxylase in rat retina is activated in vivo as a consequence of photic stimulation. Tyrosine hydroxylase in crude extracts of dark-adapted retinas is activated in vitro by incubation under conditions that stimulate protein phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Comparison of the activations of the enzyme by photic stimulation in vivo and protein phosphorylation in vitro demonstrated several similarities. Both treatments decreased the apparent K _m of the enzyme for the synthetic pterin cofactor 6MPH₄. Both treatments also produced the same change in the relationships of tyrosine hydroxylase activity to assay pH. When retinal extracts containing tyrosine hydroxylase activated either in vivo by photic stimulation or in vitro by protein phosphorylation were incubated at 25°C, the enzyme was inactivated in a time-dependent manner. The inactivation of the enzyme following both activation in vivo and activation in vitro was partially inhibited by sodium pyrophosphate, an inhibitor of phosphoprotein phosphatase. In addition to these similarities, the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase in vivo by photic stimulation was not additive to the activation in vitro by protein phosphorylation. These data indicate that the mechanism for the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase that occurs as a consequence of light-induced increases of neuronal activity is similar to the mechanism for activation of the enzyme in vitro by protein phosphorylation. This observation suggests that the activation of retinal tyrosine hydroxylase in vivo may be mediated by phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase or some effector molecule associated with the enzyme.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase and regulation of dopamine synthesis

Tyrosine hydroxylase is the rate-limiting enzyme of catecholamine biosynthesis; it uses tetrahydrobiopterin and molecular oxygen to convert tyrosine to DOPA. Its amino terminal 150 amino acids comprise a domain whose structure is involved in regulating the enzyme’s activity. Modes of regulation include phosphorylation by multiple kinases at four different serine residues, and dephosphorylation by two phosphatases. The enzyme is inhibited in feedback fashion by the catecholamine neurotransmitters. Dopamine binds to TyrH competitively with tetrahydrobiopterin, and interacts with the R domain. TyrH activity is modulated by protein–protein interactions with enzymes in the same pathway or the tetrahydrobiopterin pathway, structural proteins considered to be chaperones that mediate the neuron’s oxidative state, and the protein that transfers dopamine into secretory vesicles. TyrH is modified in the presence of NO, resulting in nitration of tyrosine residues and the glutathionylation of cysteine residues.