Brain monoamine oxidase (MAO) B: a unique neurotoxin and neurotransmitter producing enzyme |
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| Authors: | M B Youdim |
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| Affiliation: | Rappaport Family Research Institute, Technion Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Haifa, Israel. |
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| Abstract: | The notion that monoamine oxidase (MAO) functions solely to inactivate neurotransmitter and other biogenic amines needs to be re-evaluated. It is now apparent that MAO-B is capable of oxidizing inert non-polar amines such as MPTP (N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6, tetrahydropyridine) and milacemide (2-n-pentylaminoacetamide) into neuroactive substances giving rise to Parkinson inducing dopaminergic neurotoxin, MPP+ and inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter, glycine respectively. These findings accord new prospectives for neuropsychotherapy with selective MAO-B inhibitors and substrates. |
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