The effect of age and thyroid hormones upon the ability of the chick heart to deaminate monoamines

The effect of age and thyroid hormones upon the ability of chick heart homogenates to metabolize monoamines has been investigated. 5-Hydroxytryptamine is entirely metabolized by a monoamine oxidase (MAO) with the characteristics of MAO-A, whereas some of the tyramine and all of the benzylamine are oxidatively deaminated by a clorgyline-resistant, but semicarbazide-sensitive enzyme, with a similar subcellular distribution to that of MAO. The remainder of the tyramine deamination is brought about by MAO-A and MAO-B. The specific activities of both clorgyline-sensitive and resistant enzymes are increased by the same proportion by increase in age or by treatment with (--)-thyroxine, and decreased by 2-thiouracil. The significance of these results is discussed.