Red blood cell catechol O-methyltransferase activity in thyroid dysfunction
- 1 June 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
- Vol. 55 (3), 444-447
- https://doi.org/10.1139/y77-063
Abstract
Using a modification of the method of Mannl et al. (Mannl, H. F. K., Hempel, K., and Kubler, W. 1972. Catechol O-methyltransferase in human erythrocytes. Arch. Pharmacol. 272, 265–276), we have measured the activity of catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) (EC 2.1.1.6) in red blood cells (RBC) of patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism to establish whether thyroid dysfunction is associated with alterations in catecholamine catabolism. The activity of COMT averaged 4.4 ± 0.54 nmol/ml RBC per hour of incubation (mean ± SEM) in euthyroid subjects compared to 4.76 ± 0.64 nmol/ml RBC per hour of incubation in hyperthyroidism and 4.42 ± 0.81 nmol/ml RBC per hour of incubation in hypothyroidism; these values are not significantly different. There were no significant differences observed in urinary excretion of vanillylmandelic acid, epinephrine, and norepinephrine among the three groups. These data are compatible with the possibility that thyroid status has little influence on the degradation of circulating catecholamines and suggest that hypothyroidism, with its attendant elevations in serum norepinephrine concentration, may be related to a compensatory noradrenergic response.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- METABOLISM OF ADMINISTERED AND DRUG-RELEASED NOREPINEPHRINE-7-H3 IN RAT1963
- Studies on the Metabolism of Aromatic Amines in Relation to Altered Thyroid Function in Man1Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1962
- Determination of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid in urineClinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry, 1962
- METABOLISM OF 7-H3-EPINEPHRINE-d-BITARTRATE IN NORMAL YOUNG MENJCI Insight, 1961