Adaptive changes induced by high altitude in the development of brain monoamine enzymes.

Exposure to high altitude (HA) affects neurotransmitter levels in the adult brain and induces a number of neurologic and behavioral disturbances. The present work was undertaken to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to a moderate hypoxic environment (natural altitude of 3800 m, 12.8% O2 in inspired air) on the development from birth until adulthood of brain monoamine enzymes in rats. The activity of synthesizing (tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase) and catabolizing (catechol-O-methyl transferase and monoamine oxidase) enzymes were studied in discrete brain areas (cerebral cortex, cerebellum, mesodiencephalon, hypothalamus, corpus striatum, and pons medulla) and was shown to be selectively affected by HA, depending on the age of the animal and the brain region. In general, enzyme activity was less susceptible to HA during the first week after birth than at later ages, some brain areas such as the hypothalamus showing significant alterations in some enzymes throughout development, and in all enzymes at adulthood. Furthermore, in all brain areas and at all ages, tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase were more affected by HA than the catabolizing enzymes, and their activity was increased in some areas (e.g., cerebral cortex and cerebellum) but decreased in other areas (e.g., hypothalamus, mesodiencephalon, corpus striatum). These enzymatic changes and the corresponding alterations in precursor amino acids, particularly tryptophan, seem to be due more to the direct effect of hypoxia on oxygen-dependent enzymes, than to the stress. It appears that an hypoxic environment may provoke both early and long-term alterations in catecholamine and serotonin metabolism, thus neurotransmitter imbalances may explain some of the alterations in neurologic and endocrine development characteristic of the hypoxic animal.