title: Ontogeny of heme oxygenase activity in the hippocampus, frontal cerebral cortex, and cerebellum of the guinea pig.
abstract: Heme oxygenase (HO) catalyzes the oxidation of heme to produce carbon monoxide (CO), biliverdin and iron. CO is considered to function as a novel neuronal messenger in the brain analogous to nitric oxide. The ontogeny of microsomal HO activity in the hippocampus, frontal cerebral cortex, and cerebellum of the immature fetal, mature fetal and adult guinea pig was determined using an optimized assay which quantitated heme-derived CO formation by a gas chromatographic method. There was a distinct developmental profile of HO activity that was similar for all three brain regions. In particular, HO activity was maximal in the mature fetus compared with the immature fetus and the adult. These data demonstrate that HO activity is developmentally regulated and that there is similar ontogeny of HO activity in the hippocampus, frontal cerebral cortex, and cerebellum of the guinea pig.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Vreman
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakatsu
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Brien
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000201:enzymology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000201:enzymology*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing)