title: Reduced membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase in the liver of spontaneously hypertensive rats.
abstract: We have previously reported that methylation of catecholamines by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) was attenuated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with acute hypotension as compared with that of Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Here we examined the soluble (S-) and membrane-bound (MB-) COMT activities and COMT protein in the liver, kidney, and erythrocytes in both strains. Both the activities and the amounts of MB-COMT in the liver were lower in SHR than in WKY rats, but no such trend was found in the kidney or erythrocytes. Nor was such a trend observed in any of these three tissues for S-COMT. These results indicate that liver MB-COMT may be a relevant factor in blood pressure regulation in rats.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Analytical Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tenhunen
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tilgmann
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D007668:Kidney / Q000201:enzymology; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008566:Membranes / Q000201:enzymology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY
chemical_list: D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase; D009638:Norepinephrine