N-(3,5-Dihydroxybenzoyl)-6-hydroxytryptamine (2) was a novel inhibitor of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) oxidase activity of human HMV-II melanoma tyrosinase. The IC₅₀ values for 2 and three reference compounds, N-(3,5-dihydroxybenzoyl)serotonin, 6-hydroxyindole, and kojic acid, were 9.1, 842, 22, and 310 µM, respectively, indicating that the 6-hydroxyindole moiety was more effective than ...

L-DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine), a modified amino acid, is an expansively used drug for the Parkinson's disease treatment. In the present study, optimization of nutritional parameters influencing L-DOPA production was attempted using the response surface methodology (RSM) from Mucuna monosperma callus. Optimization of the four factors was carried out using the Box-Behnken design. The opt...

The efficacy of oral L-dopa becomes problematic with the progression of Parkinson's disease, due in large part to a lost ability to accommodate L-dopa's inherently poor pharmacokinetics. Pulmonary delivery represents a novel approach to reducing this problem. L-dopa was formulated into inhalable (Alkermes AIR) particles, and its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics compared with those of an or...

The California mussel, Mytilus californianus, adheres in the highly oxidizing intertidal zone with a fibrous holdfast called the byssus using 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (DOPA)-containing adhesive proteins. DOPA is susceptible to oxidation in seawater and, upon oxidation, loses adhesion. Successful mussel adhesion thus depends critically on controlling oxidation and reduction. To explore how...

An Escherichia coli cell-free transcription/translation system was used to explore the high-level incorporation of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) into proteins by replacing tyrosine with DOPA in the reaction mixtures. ESI-MS showed specific incorporation of DOPA in place of tyrosine. More than 90% DOPA incorporation at each tyrosine site was achieved, allowing the recording of clean 15N-HS...

To evaluate the additive effect of moderate chronic renal failure to the abnormal dopamine generation and action observed in stable hypertension, we investigated 22 age-matched patients with a comparable degree of hypertension with and without chronic renal failure. Both groups were compared with each other and with an age-matched control group after a single oral dose of dihydroxyphenylalanine...

Clozapine reduces L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa)-induced dyskinesias in parkinsonian patients. To test if the antidyskinetic effect of clozapine is related to antagonism at the dopamine D(4) receptor, we investigated the effect of 8-methyl-6-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-11H-pyrido[2,3-b][1, 4]benzodiazepine (JL-18), a structural analog of clozapine which is more selective for this receptor. ...

This study investigated behavioral and anatomical changes induced by long periods of L-DOPA treatment in the unilateral rat model of Parkinson's disease. After daily injections of L-DOPA (50 mg/kg, ip) given for 1, 4, 8, or 16 weeks, behavioral sensitization, expressed by contralateral turning and changes in its pattern, increased within the first week of treatment and remained unchanged therea...

Animal peroxidases are iron-containing proteins that catalyze the oxidation of a variety of substances by hydrogen peroxide. Histochemically, the myeloperoxidase of granulocytes is the most easily detected (1). Tyrosinase (dopa oxidase) is a copper-containing enzyme complex capable of converting both tyrosine to dopa (slowly) and dopa to dopa quinone (rapidly) in the melanin synthetic pathway (...

L-Dopa, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of catecholamines, is now widely used in the treatment of parkinsonism. A number of clinical observations suggested that L-dopa may induce changes in its own metabolism during the course of therapy. In the present study, it was found that when L-dopa was administered to rats, the activity of liver aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase, the enzyme which ...