PROPERTIES AND FUNCTION OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL MONOAMINE-OXIDASE IN EGGS AND EARLY EMBRYO

Several lines of investigations demonstrate that neurotransmitter mono amines like serotonin and catecholamines may influence some developmen tal processes even before the nervous system formation in various anim al groups. One of the aspects of interest in this context is whether t he modulation of the levels of these biogenic amines in early embryos involves a MAO activity. In this review we have summarized literature data on the characteristics and functional significance of MAO activit y in eggs and in early embryos of several animal species. A considerab le level of MAO activity has been found in eggs of sea urchins, teleos ts and amphibians and some properties of this activity have been descr ibed. Moreover. changes in enzyme activity hare been observed during e arly embryogenesis of these groups and also of birds. These findings; together with other observations on the effects of anti-MAO agents on early embryos indicate that, at least in some species, MAO activity mi ght be of critical importance in regulating monoamine In els starting from the early stages of development.