Monoamine oxidase and semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase in spontaneously hypertensive and in normotensive control rats.

The aim of the present work was to compare monoamine oxidase (MAO) and semicarbazide sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activity in several tissues from spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Contribution of MAO-A, -B and SSAO to the metabolism of each substrate in each tissue was defined from experiments where the decrease of oxidative deamination of each substrate at a given concentration was measured as a function of increasing concentrations of a selective MAO-A, -B or SSAO inhibitor. In the heart, aorta and, to a lesser extent, the femoral arteries MAO-A activity was higher in SHR than in WKY. Similarly in the liver the enzyme activity was higher in SHR than in WKY but was due to the -B form of MAO. In all the other tissues studied (duodenum, brain, lungs, adrenals and kidneys) no difference in MAO-A, MAO-B or SSAO activity was found between SHR and WKY, except for the kidneys and brain, if the differences in the weights of these organs in SHR are taken into account.