On hepatic mitochondrial monoamine oxidase activity in lipid deficiency

A marked decrease in liver mitochondrial monoamine oxidase activity was noticed in rats fed a fat-free diet as compared with that of their controls. In lipid-deprived rats, the specific activity of this enzyme was very low towards different substrates studied. The activity of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase, which like monoamine oxidase is localized on the mitochondrial outer membrane, was similarly depressed under conditions of lipid deprivation. On the other hand no major changes were observed in the activity of the inner membrane enzyme, kynurenine amino-transferase. Mitochondria from fat-free diet-fed rats were deficient in essential fatty acids whereas no appreciable variations were found in the relative proportions of phospholipids in comparison with those of control mitochondria. Mitochondrial monoamine oxidase activity of the deficient rats retained its sensitivities to inhibitor drugs like clorgyline and deprenyl. No changes were noticeable in the substrate specificity of monoamine oxidase in these rats. When we switched the fat-free diet-fed rats to a diet supplemented with a source of essential fatty acids, there was an elevation in the activities of both monoamine oxidase and kynurenine 3-monooxygenase, their levels approaching those of the control rats.