METABOLISM OF MONOAMINES IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RAT

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Abstract
The association of monoamine metabolism and hypertension was studied by comparing spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive rats. In hypertensive rats the levels of 5HT [5-hydroxy-tryptamine] in blood and heart tissue and of NE norepinephrine in the heart were elevated by 25% from the controls. When 5-hydroxytryptophan was injected, 5HT levels in the heart of hypertensive rats were 20-30% higher than in controls after 60, 80 and 100 min. Among the activities of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyl transferase in brain, heart, kidney, and liver, only liver MAO activity was noticeably decreased in hypertensive rat. An elevation in blood 5HT level and high blood pressure occurred 20 hr. after the bilateral nephrectomy, whereas a low 5HT level and low blood pressure ensued from the adrenalectomy in normotensive rats.