The role of monoamine oxidase in the response of the isolated central artery of the rabbit ear to tyramine.

1. Monoamine oxidase activity was demonstrated histochemically throughout the media of the rabbit ear artery but not in the adventitia at its border with the media where the sympathetic nerve terminals are concentrated. Neither intensity nor distribution of enzyme activity was perceptibly altered up to 60 days after sympathetic denervation.2. Iproniazid and nialamide increased the sensitivity of the artery to intraluminal tyramine much more than that to extraluminal tyramine, so that the difference between the potencies for the two routes of administration became less marked.3. The results indicate that inactivation by monoamine oxidase in the media is a factor contributing to the relatively low potency of intraluminal tyramine on the artery.