EVALUATION OF MAO ACTIVITIES ON MURINE NEUROBLASTOMA-CELLS UPON ACUTEOR CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH ALUMINUM (III) OR TACRINE

Monoamine-oxidase catalyses the oxidative deamination of various prima ry amines such as norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and others. Such an enzyme exists under two well known isotypes, A and B. In the brain monoamine-oxidase activity increases with ageing. The present paper r eports data regarding the evaluation on the activity of monoamine-oxid ase A and B in murine neuroblastoma cells carried out by a radioassay upon acute or chronic treatment of cells by aluminium or tacrine. Our data show that aluminium has a pronounced activatory effect on both en zymatic isoforms either in acute or long-term adaptation treatment. Co nversely, tacrine produces an inhibitory effect of both monoamine oxid ase isotypes after an acute treatment, while an inhibitory effect on t he isoform A and an activation of the isoform B in long-term adaptatio n was observed. Such effects are discussed in terms of aluminium neuro toxicity and therapeutic implications for tacrine. (C) 1998 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.