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Catechol O-Methyltransferase in Red Blood Cells of Schizophrenic, Depressed, and Normal Human Subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Helen L. White ,
Malcolm N. McLeod  and
Jonathan R. T. Davidson
Helen L. White
Affiliation:
Wellcome Research Laboratories, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
Malcolm N. McLeod
Affiliation:
John Umstead Hospital, Butner, North Carolina; and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Jonathan R. T. Davidson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514; and John Umstead Hospital, Butner, North Carolina
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Summary

Catechol O-methyltransferase of lysed human red blood cells was assayed under optimal conditions, using saturating concentrations of the substrates, S-adenosyl-L-methionine and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The mean enzyme activity found in 24 normal subjects was 29.2 nmol/hr/ml RBC. The mean activity in blood of 33 female unipolar depressives was not significantly different from normal. However, higher enzyme activities were observed in the blood of 11 schizophrenic patients (38.9 nmol/hr/ml RBC). Partially purified enzyme preparations from blood of normal and schizophrenic individuals were indistinguishable with respect to substrate specificities, isoelectric pH values, and ratios of the two O-methylated products. Therefore it is unlikely that any defect in O-methylation which may occur in schizophrenia can be attributed to a change in the intrinsic properties of erythrocyte catechol O-methyltransferase.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 128 , Issue 2 , February 1976 , pp. 184 - 187
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976 

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