Abstract
ACCORDING to current concepts1, reserpine converts amines, such as serotonin and noradrenaline, from ‘bound’ into ‘free’ forms, thus exposing them to rapid destruction by amine oxidase. If amine oxidase is inhibited by iproniazid (‘Marsilid’) the releasing effect of reserpine is assumed to continue, resulting in the accumulation of amines in their free form, without net change in concentration. It is generally held that the bound form of the amines is that fraction which is associated with mitochondria and the free form that which occurs in the particle-free cellular sap. This conception is based mainly on the demonstration that reserpine causes the release of serotonin from blood platelets into the surrounding plasma2.
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References
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Weil-Malherbe, H., and Bone, A. D., Nature, 180, 1050 (1957).
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WEIL-MALHERBE, H., BONE, A. Effect of Reserpine on the Intracellular Distribution of Catecholamines in the Brain Stem of the Rabbit. Nature 181, 1474–1475 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811474a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811474a0
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