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Stone DM, Johnson M, Hanson GR, Gibb JW. 
“Acute inactivation of tryptophan hydroxylase by amphetamine analogs involves the oxidation of sulfhydryl sites”. 
Eur J Pharmacol. 1989;172(1):93-7.
Abstract
The activity of rat hippocampal tryptophan hydroxylase was reduced from 30-60% 3 h after the administration of a 10-15 mg/kg dose of either fenfluramine, methamphetamine or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Tryptophan hydroxylase inactivated by these drug treatments could be reconstituted by a prolonged anaerobic incubation in the presence of 5 mM dithiothreitol and 50 microM Fe2+. Drug-inactivated enzyme obtained from rats killed 18 h after multiple doses of either D(+)- or L(-)-MDMA could not be similarly restored. These observations suggest that the rapid decrease in central tryptophan hydroxylase activity induced by amphetamine analogs results from the reversible oxidation of a sulfhydryl site(s) within the enzyme molecule, whereas the irreversible decrease in enzymatic activity measured 18 h after multiple-dose MDMA treatment may reflect serotonergic toxicity.
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