[Histochemical and biochemical investigations of monoamine oxidase activity level in the brain of the brindled mouse].

In order to make clear the degree of brainstem affection in Menkes disease, it is important to investigate morphological and enzymatic changes of monoamine oxidase (MAO)-containing neurons in the brain in this disease. For this purpose, MAO activity levels in brain tissue from normal and brindled mice were examined histochemically and biochemically. A coupled peroxidatic oxidation method for the histochemistry and a rapid microfluorimetric method for the biochemical assay were adopted. Animals aged 3 days, 8 days, 13 days, 3 months and 12 months were used for the histochemical study. Three-, 7-, and 12-day-old mice were used for the biochemical study. Histochemical examinations showed no significant differences in the stainability, morphology and distribution of MAO positive neurons in the brain between normal and brindled mice at the same age. Biochemical assays revealed that MAO activity levels in the brain of the postnatal brindled mice rose with age as highly as those in the normal control mice. There were no significant differences in them between normal and brindled mice at the same age. The results indicate that in Menkes disease in mice the brainstem affection, if there is, is not so severe as to influence the morphology and enzyme activity of MAO-containing neurons.