Funahashi H, Imai T, Tanaka Y, Tobinaga J, Wada M, Matsuyama T, Tsukamura K, Yamada F, Takagi H, Narita T
Department of Surgery II, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
J Surg Oncol. 1994 Nov;57(3):196-200. doi: 10.1002/jso.2930570312.
Among catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) exists only in adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma has been believed not to produce adrenaline. However, adrenaline production is clinically active in some extra-adrenal cases. To investigate this controversy, the localization of catecholamine synthesizing enzymes was studied by immunohistochemical staining in extra-adrenal and adrenal cases. The results showed that PNMT was expressed not only in many cases of adrenal pheochromocytoma, but also in extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma. It is suspected that little adrenaline production in extra-adrenal cases is attributable to a lack of a good environment for the activation of PNMT by a high concentration of glucocorticoids.
在儿茶酚胺合成酶中，苯乙醇胺 -N-甲基转移酶（PNMT）仅存在于肾上腺，肾上腺外嗜铬细胞瘤一直被认为不产生肾上腺素。然而，在一些肾上腺外病例中，肾上腺素的产生具有临床活性。为了研究这一争议，通过免疫组织化学染色对肾上腺外和肾上腺病例中儿茶酚胺合成酶的定位进行了研究。结果表明，PNMT不仅在许多肾上腺嗜铬细胞瘤病例中表达，也在肾上腺外嗜铬细胞瘤中表达。据推测，肾上腺外病例中肾上腺素产生较少是由于缺乏高浓度糖皮质激素激活PNMT的良好环境。
