Determination of catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolites in mouse plasma

The determination of catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolites in a single mouse plasma is necessary to understand the role of the sympathetic nervous activity, while the inactivation of catecholamines by catechol-O-methyltransferase indicates the activity of blood pressure regulation in animals. Here we report the basal catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolite concentrations obtained from 15 microL of mouse plasma utilizing semi-microcolumn high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection system. The concentrations were 6.63 +/- 1.37 pmol/mL plasma, 0.49 +/- 0.10 pmol/mL plasma, 5.25 +/- 2.30 pmol/mL plasma, 3.23 +/- 0.84 pmol/mL plasma, 0.44 +/- 0.11 pmol/mL plasma, and 3.39 +/- 1.67 pmol/mL plasma for norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, normetanephrine, metanephrine and 3-methoxytyramine, respectively (n = 5-7). Further, when blood pressure was reduced by minoxidil, plasma catecholamines were found to be significantly increased by the baroreflex-mediated response in mouse.