On the metabolism of [3H]noradrenaline in different compartments of rat brain with respect to the role of catechol-O-methyltransferase.

Rats were pretreated with either reserpine or desmethylimipramine, either alone or in combination with tropolone. At either 10 min or 1 h after the intraventricular injection of [3H]noradrenaline, in several brain regions the complete metabolic patterns were determined: normetanephrine; the glycol metabolites (methylated and nonmethylated) and their sulfate conjugates; and the acidic metabolites (methylated and non-methylated). A reserpine-induced increase in the turnover of [3H]noradrenaline caused a transient increase of the catechol glycol followed by elevated levels of the two glycol sulfates. The stimulated [3H]noradrenaline turnover if achieved by desmethylimipramine caused a transient increase of normetanephrine and initially lowered values of catechol glycols (both free and sulfated), which were followed by elevated levels. Drug-pretreated rats compensated for the inhibition of catechol-O-methyl-transferase by tropolone in different ways: Reserpine caused an early increase of the catechol glycol beyond the measurements in other treatment groups, whereas desmethylimipramine increased the nonmethylated carboxylic acid and glycol sulfates rather slowly to levels beyond those of other groups. The results support the existence of two compartments with a fast metabolism (an intraneuronal monoamine oxidase compartment and an extraneuronal catechol-O-methyltransferase compartment). In addition, there seems to exist another extra-neuronal space with a slow, monoamine oxidase-dependent noradrenaline turnover.