Cloning of MAO (monoamine oxidase) A and B has demonstrated unequivocally that these enzymes are made up of different polypeptides, and our understanding of MAO structure, regulation, and function has been significantly advanced by studies using their cDNA. MAO A and B genes are located on the X-chromosome (Xp11.23) and comprise 15 exons with identical intron-exon organization, which suggests that they are derived from the same ancestral gene. MAO A and B knock-out mice exhibit distinct differences in neurotransmitter metabolism and behavior. MAO A knock-out mice have elevated brain levels of serotonin, norephinephrine, and dopamine and manifest aggressive behavior similar to human males with a deletion of MAO A. In contrast, MAO B knock-out mice do not exhibit aggression and only levels of phenylethylamine are increased. Mice lacking MAO B are resistant to the Parkinsongenic neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetra-hydropyridine. Both MAO A and B knock-out mice show increased reactivity to stress. These knock-out mice are valuable models for investigating the role of monoamines in psychoses and neurodegenerative and stress-related disorders.

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Monoamine oxidase: from genes to behavior.

Mechanisms of neurotransmitter release by amphetamines: a review.

The monoamine oxidases play a vital role in the metabolism of biogenic amines in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues. Using oligonucleotide probes derived from three sequenced peptide fragments, we have isolated cDNA clones that encode the A and B forms of monoamine oxidase and have determined the nucleotide sequences of these cDNAs. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences shows that the A and B forms have subunit molecular weights of 59,700 and 58,800, respectively, and have 70% sequence identity. Both sequences contain the pentapeptide Ser-Gly-Gly-Cys-Tyr, in which the obligatory cofactor FAD is covalently bound to cysteine. Based on differences in primary amino acid sequences and RNA gel blot analysis of mRNAs, the A and B forms of monoamine oxidase appear to be derived from separate genes.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/85/13/4934.full.pdf

cDNA cloning of human liver monoamine oxidase A and B: molecular basis of differences in enzymatic properties.

A few years after the foundation of the British Pharmacological Society, monoamine oxidase (MAO) was recognized as an enzyme of crucial interest to pharmacologists because it catalyzed the major inactivation pathway for the catecholamine neurotransmitters, noradrenaline, adrenaline and dopamine (and, later, 5-hydroxytryptamine, as well). Within the next decade, the therapeutic value of inhibitors of MAO in the treatment of depressive illness was established. Although this first clinical use exposed serious side effects, pharmacological interest in, and investigation of, MAO continued, resulting in the characterization of two isoforms, MAO-A and -B, and isoform-selective inhibitors. Selective inhibitors of MAO-B have found a therapeutic role in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and further developments have provided reversible inhibitors of MAO-A, which offer antidepressant activity without the serious side effects of the earlier inhibitors. Clinical observation and subsequent pharmacological analysis have also generated the concept of neuroprotection, reflecting the possibility of slowing, halting and maybe reversing, neurodegeneration in Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases. Increased levels of oxidative stress in the brain may be critical for the initiation and progress of neurodegeneration and selective inhibition of brain MAO could contribute importantly to lowering such stress. There are complex interactions between free iron levels in brain and MAO, which may have practical outcomes for depressive disorders. These aspects of MAO and its inhibition and some indication of how this important area of pharmacology and therapeutics might develop in the future are summarized in this review.

J.P. Johnston

Papers

Some observations upon a new inhibitor of monoamine oxidase in brain tissue.