Kuchel O, Buu N T, Hamet P, Larochelle P, Bourque M, Genest J
J Lab Clin Med. 1984 Aug;104(2):238-44.
Because of high plasma concentrations of conjugated catecholamines and their unknown relationship to hypertension, we determined those conjugates more specifically as catecholamine sulfates together with the sulfoconjugating enzyme-phenolsulfotransferase activity in platelets of 62 patients with essential hypertension and 32 normal controls. Our results indicated: (1) that the pool of total (free and sulfated) catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine) is higher (because of an increase in dopamine sulfate levels) but the degree of epinephrine conjugation is lower in patients with essential hypertension compared with controls; (2) that norepinephrine sulfate levels rise with age in both groups, but the increase in free norepinephrine with age observed in controls was not observed in patients with essential hypertension; and (3) that catecholamine conjugates were found to be exclusively sulfates and platelet phenolsulfotransferase activity was not different in both groups. Platelet phenolsulfotransferase activity was, however, positively correlated with plasma norepinephrine sulfate levels, and the degree of sulfoconjugation of norepinephrine was positively correlated with that of dopamine in controls but not in patients with essential hypertension. These abnormalities occurring in essential hypertension in the absence of intergroup differences in platelet phenolsulfotransferase activity suggest that the enzyme is either not a good marker of the overall activity or that other factors account for the observed differences. Thus, additional determinants of the process of generation and degradation of sulfoconjugated catecholamines, some of which may be more stable markers of sympathetic activity than free catecholamines, need to be explored.
由于结合儿茶酚胺的血浆浓度较高，且它们与高血压的关系不明，我们在62例原发性高血压患者和32例正常对照者的血小板中，更具体地测定了这些结合物为儿茶酚胺硫酸盐以及硫酸结合酶——酚磺基转移酶的活性。我们的结果表明：（1）与对照组相比，原发性高血压患者中总（游离和硫酸化）儿茶酚胺（多巴胺、去甲肾上腺素和肾上腺素）池更高（由于硫酸多巴胺水平升高），但肾上腺素结合程度更低；（2）两组中硫酸去甲肾上腺素水平均随年龄升高，但原发性高血压患者未观察到对照组中随年龄出现的游离去甲肾上腺素升高现象；（3）发现儿茶酚胺结合物均为硫酸盐，且两组血小板酚磺基转移酶活性无差异。然而，血小板酚磺基转移酶活性与血浆硫酸去甲肾上腺素水平呈正相关，对照组中去甲肾上腺素的硫酸结合程度与多巴胺的硫酸结合程度呈正相关，而原发性高血压患者中则无此现象。原发性高血压中出现的这些异常，在血小板酚磺基转移酶活性组间无差异的情况下，表明该酶要么不是总体活性的良好标志物，要么是其他因素导致了观察到的差异。因此，需要探索硫酸结合儿茶酚胺生成和降解过程的其他决定因素，其中一些可能是比游离儿茶酚胺更稳定的交感神经活动标志物。
