3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethylamine, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 3,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine: oxidation and binding to membranes. A comparative study of a neurotransmitter, a precursor and a neurotransmitter candidate in primitive nervous systems.

At neutral (7.0) and slightly basic (8.2) pH, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), 3,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine (5-OH-DOPA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine) undergo autoxidation. The binding of radiolabeled oxidation products of L-DOPA, 5-OH-DOPA and dopamine to membrane proteins was compared by a filtration procedure. Membranes from tentacles of the sea anemone Metridium senile bind significantly more 5-OH-DOPA than L-DOPA and dopamine. Membranes from rat brain and brains from the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, bind significantly more dopamine than L-DOPA and 5-OH-DOPA. Membranes from Metridium contain an o-diphenol O2: oxidoreductase (tyrosinase). In the absence of inhibitors, enzymatic oxidation causes a fiftyfold increase in binding of L-DOPA and a more than tenfold increase in binding of dopamine, whereas the binding of 5-OH-DOPA only is increased by 10%. It is concluded than 5-OH-DOPA more easily undergo autoxidation than L-DOPA and dopamine, but its quinone form is probably less reactive with membrane proteins. The suitability of tyrosinase-mediated biosynthesis of L-DOPA and 5-OH-DOPA versus tyrosine hydroxylase-mediated biosynthesis of L-DOPA and dopamine in primitive nervous systems and in the vertebrate CNS is discussed on the basis of the cytotoxic potential through irreversible binding to membrane proteins of oxidation products of the catechol compounds formed.