The Effects of Oxygen at High Pressure on Catecholamine Metabolism.

摘要

The involvement of the adrenal gland in oxygen toxicity is very well documented. Less well documented but consistent with the adrenal gland involvement is an increased epinephrine oxidase activity during acute oxygen toxicity. Methods for determining the indole produced had not been specific until the development of gas-lipid chromatography (GLC) technique by Horning. With this method one could firmly establish a pronounced increase in plasma adrenochrome following exposure to toxic levels of high pressure oxygen. Since the parotid gland has been identified as having the highest endogenous concentration of the enzyme,the authors investigated its response to high oxygen pressures (HOP). The overall view of this gland is that HOP exposure dramatically stimulates parotid gland enzyme activity. GLC assays of the parotid denotes that the increased activity is in part an increased epinephrine oxidation. (Modified author abstract)