Pihlavisto Pia, Reenilä Ilkka
Orion Corporation, ORION PHARMA, Department of Pharmacokinetics, Orionintie 1, P.O. Box 65, FIN-02101 Espoo, Finland.
J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2002 Dec 5;781(1-2):359-72. doi: 10.1016/s1570-0232(02)00429-4.
Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) transfers a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the catechol substrate in the presence of magnesium. After the characterisation of COMT more than four decades ago, a wide variety of COMT enzyme assays have been introduced. COMT activity analysis usually consists of the handling of the sample and incubation followed by separation and detection of the reaction products. Several of these assays are validated, reliable and sensitive. Besides the studies of the basic properties of COMT, the activity assay has also been applied to explore the relation of COMT to various disease states or disorders. In addition, COMT activity analysis has been applied clinically since COMT inhibitors have been introduced as adjuvant drugs in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
儿茶酚-O-甲基转移酶（COMT）在镁存在的情况下，将S-腺苷-L-甲硫氨酸上的甲基转移至儿茶酚底物上。在四十多年前对COMT进行表征之后，已经引入了各种各样的COMT酶测定方法。COMT活性分析通常包括样品处理和孵育，随后是反应产物的分离和检测。其中几种测定方法经过了验证，可靠且灵敏。除了对COMT基本特性的研究外，活性测定还被用于探索COMT与各种疾病状态或病症之间的关系。此外，自从COMT抑制剂作为辅助药物用于治疗帕金森病以来，COMT活性分析已应用于临床。
