title: Changes of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity during ontogenesis in healthy subjects and in an experimental model (rats).
abstract: In children and adolescents (250 healthy subjects) serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity (23.9+/-5.2 to 57.1+/-17.5 micromol/min/ml) increases with the age between 3-10 years, later it decreases approximately by the age of 10-14 years. At the age of 21 to 60 years DBH level is stable. Our study described decreasing DBH activity in adolescents at the age of 10-14 years in the studied sample of healthy persons. Experimental animals (200 Wistar rats, 5-120 days old) show the same trend of enzymatic activity, similarly as in humans. DBH activity in rats is between 0.85+/-0.1 to 2.8+/-0.05 micromol/min/ml. This activity is highest in 5-day-old rats; it decreases till the age of 14 days and increases mainly in 14- to 35-day-old animals. Decrease of DBH activity in rats between 35 to 40 days is significant and corresponds to the reduction of DBH activity in adolescent humans (10-14 years). Adult rats (aged 90-120 days) show a stable DBH activity. DBH activity intermediately decreases in 10- to 14-year-old children. This decrease corresponds to the intermediate developmental changes of electrophysiological parameters (decreasing EEG activity in healthy adolescents occurs in 10-14 years old children). Puberty is coupled with intermediate decreasing of DBH activity in man and also in experimental animals in the period of prominent psychological and physiological changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague and General Teaching Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic. pacltovi@email.cz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paclt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koudelová
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase / Q000097:blood*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase