Inactivation of methionine synthase by nitrous oxide.

Exposure of rats to a 50% N2O/oxygen mixture led to a rapid loss of methionine synthase activity in both liver and brain. This enzyme has vitamin B12 as a cofactor. There was impaired conversion of deoxyuridine to deoxythymidine by bone marrow cells and this defect followed loss of methionine synthase activity. There was no homocystinuria. Withdrawal of N2O was followed by a relatively slow recovery of methionine synthase activity over four days. The inactivation of vitamin B12 by N2O promises to be a valuable tool in the study of vitamin B12 metabolism.