Formation of dopamine and noradrenaline in rat vas deferens: comparison with guinea-pig vas deferens.
1 The formation of [14C]-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) from [14C]-tyrosine, in the presence of the amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor, brocresine (3-hydroxy-4-bromobenzyloxyamine dihydrogen phosphate), was greatly enhanced in rat vasa deferentia depolarized by a KCl-enriched Krebs-Henseleit solution (52 mM KCl) compared with tissues maintained in unmodified Krebs-Henseleit solution. 2 When the conversion of tyrosine was allowed to proceed as far as catecholamine (brocresine absent) no significant difference was observed between the accumulation of [14C]-catecholamines (CA) in depolarized rat vasa deferentia and the accumulation in control (non-depolarized) tissues. 3 Endogenous CA levels in the depolarized rat vasa deferentia fell to 67% of the controls after a 1 h incubation period and to 53% at the end of 2 hours. 4 Chromatographic separation on Amberlite CG-120 columns of the newly synthesized CA and catechol metabolites from the rat vas deferens revealed that a very high proportion was present as dopamine. The percentage distribution after 1 h incubation in control Krebs-Henseleit was: noradrenaline (NA): 30.6 +/- 5.2; dopamine 56.9 +/- 5.9; acid metabolites: 12.8 +/- 1.1; and in KCl-rich Krebs-Henseleit, NA: 32; dopamine: 44.7 and acid metabolites 23.3. In contrast to the newly synthesized (14C-labelled) CA, endogenous dopamine comprises only 10% of the endogenous CA stores in rat vas deferens. 5 The distribution of newly synthesized NA and dopamine in rat vas deferens is strikingly different from that of guinea-pig vas deferens where more than 80% of newly formed amine is present as NA. In the latter tissue depolarization with K+ causes a striking increase in CA biosynthesis.
D000818:Animals; D001958:Brocresine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004298:Dopamine / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D014649:Vas Deferens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
D001958:Brocresine; D014443:Tyrosine; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine