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Catecholamines are produced mainly by the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and the postganglionic fibers of the sympathetic nervous system. Dopamine, which acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, is largely produced in neuronal cell bodies in two areas of the brainstem: the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra, the latter of which contains neuromelanin ...
Catecholaminergic means "related to catecholamines". The catecholamine neurotransmitters include dopamine , epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). A catecholaminergic agent (or drug ) is a chemical which functions to directly modulate the catecholamine systems in the body or brain.
l-DOPA can be directly metabolized by catechol-O-methyl transferase to 3-O-methyldopa, and then further to vanillactic acid. This metabolic pathway is nonexistent in the healthy body, but becomes important after peripheral l-DOPA administration in patients with Parkinson's disease or in the rare cases of patients with AADC enzyme deficiency. [11]
Some authors include in this category 'putative' adrenergic cell groups, collections of neurons that stain for PNMT, the enzyme that converts norepinephrine to epinephrine (adrenaline). [2] Catecholaminergic cell groups and Parkinson's disease have an interactive relationship. Catecholaminergic neurons containing neuromelanin are more ...
The enzyme is highly specific, not accepting indole derivatives - which is unusual as many other enzymes involved in the production of catecholamines do. Tryptophan is a poor substrate for tyrosine hydroxylase, however it can hydroxylate L -phenylalanine to form L -tyrosine and small amounts of 3-hydroxyphenylalanine.
The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. [1] Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft where they are able to interact with neurotransmitter receptors on the target cell. Some neurotransmitters are also stored in large dense core vesicles. [2]
Norepinephrine is a catecholamine and a phenethylamine. [4] Its structure differs from that of epinephrine only in that epinephrine has a methyl group attached to its nitrogen, whereas the methyl group is replaced by a hydrogen atom in norepinephrine. [4]
3-Methoxytyramine (3-MT), also known as 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenethylamine, is a human trace amine and the major metabolite of the monoamine neurotransmitter dopamine. [1] [2] It is formed by the introduction of a methyl group to dopamine by the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). 3-MT can be further metabolized by the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) to form homovanillic acid (HVA ...