Two forms of monoamine oxidase (MAO A and MAO B) exist which, although similar in a number of properties, can be distinguished on the basis of their substrate specificity, inhibitor sensitivity, kinetic parameters, and protein structure. These properties were used to study the molecular mechanism(s) by which glucocorticoid hormones and "aging," known to alter MAO activity in vivo, regulated the expression of MAO A and MAO B in cultured human skin fibroblasts. The addition of dexamethasone or hydrocortisone to cultures resulted in a dose- and time-dependent increase in total MAO activity, whereas the removal of hormone from cultures resulted in a time-dependent decrease in activity toward control levels. The response to dexamethasone was affected by culture conditions such as serum concentration, feeding frequency, and cellular "age." Cellular aging, in the absence of hormone, also resulted in increased levels of total MAO activity. The effects of hormones and aging on total MAO activity appeared to be selective for MAO A. The 6- to 14-fold increases in total activity were paralleled by similar increases in the activity and amount of active MAO A but less than 2- to 3-fold increases in the activity and amount of MAO B. Altered synthesis or degradation of the active enzyme appeared to account for the effects of hormones, aging, and various culture conditions on MAO activity. Inhibitor sensitivity, substrate affinity, electrophoretic mobility, and molecular turnover number of either form of the enzyme were not altered during dexamethasone treatment or during cellular aging. However, rates of active MAO synthesis were affected by hormone treatment and feeding frequency, rates of active MAO degradation by serum concentration, and rates of active MAO synthesis or degradation by aging. In summary, we have shown that glucocorticoids and cellular aging selectively affect the amount of MAO A at the level of active enzyme synthesis or degradation. Further, our finding that the expression of the two forms of MAO in human fibroblasts can be independently regulated supports the growing evidence that MAO A and MAO B are separate molecular entities.

Monoamine oxidase activity of the A type was measured in homogenates of cultured human skin fibroblasts. Twenty-four control lines had activities ranging over fifty-fold with an apparent bimodal distribution. Activity in fibroblasts from 20 patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome fell in the low portion of the normal distribution with a mean activity about 50% that of the control mean (p < 0.05). In a subgroup of control and Lesch-Nyhan lines with levels of enzyme activity from 0.9 to 179 pmol/min/mg protein, monoamine oxidase was similar with respect to apparent Km for tryptamine, thermal stability at 56 C, and sensitivity to clorgyline. Thus the lower mean levels of activity observed in the Lesch-Nyhan as compared to control fibroblasts were not associated with other altered properties of the enzyme. The bimodal distribution of enzyme activity suggests that a genetic polymorphism for monoamine oxidase may control levels of activity expressed in fibroblasts.

Monoamine oxidase ( M A O ) activity was studied in cultured skin fibroblasts from 10 Lesch-Nyhan patients. a Lesch~ Nyhan tariant and 11 controls matched for age. sex and race. Activity (predominantly type A) was measured in cell homogenates using tryptamine as the substrate. For each line activity varied with the conditions of culture. Activity increased 3-10 fold as cultures went from logarithmic to stationary phase of growth. When cultures were confluent. activity was lowered by frequent feedings or the use of fresh medium and serum. Activity for each line remained fairly stable during successive passages. but rose 3-8 fold as cultures became senescent. When comparing activity between control and Lesch-Nyhan lines. cells were cultured under standardized conditions. The mean value of M A 0 activity in Lesch-Nyhan lines was approximately one fourth of the mean acticity in control lines ( P i 0.012). In the control population. the distribution of activity appeared to be bimodal. Activities in the Lesch-Nyhan lines fell completely within the lower portion of the control distribution. Cells from a Lesch-Nyhan patient who lacked several of the neurologic symptoms of the disease (including self-mutilation) had an M A 0 activity 6 fold greater than the control mean. although his hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase activity was < 3",, of control levels.It appears that: ( I ) M A 0 actility is low in fibroblasts from typical Lesch-Nyhan patients: (2) the severity of neurologic symptoms may be correlated with levels of M A 0 activity: and (3) some interaction between purine and catecholamine metabolism can affect nerve function.

The Lesch-Nyhan syndrome in humans is characterized by lack of hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase activity and neurologic abnormalities that suggest changes in catecholamine metabolism. Monoamine oxidase, which degrades biogenic amines, has decreased activity in noradrenergic murine neuroblastoma cell lines lacking hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase activity and in skin fibroblasts from patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

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