Increased peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase activity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple...

Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) plays a key role in the biosynthesis of many biologically active neuronal and endocrine peptides that possess alpha-amide function at their C-terminus. Using D-Tyr-Val-Gly as the substrate, we measured PAM activity levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of patients with a variety of neurological diseases. PAM activity in the CSF was significantly increased in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), especially during the active stage, compared with that in patients with other neurological diseases (p < 0.05). Levels of CSF PAM activity were not correlated with protein levels in CSF or with level of serum PAM activity. Since PAM is present not only in neurons but also in oligodendroglia, it is possible that the increase in CSF PAM activity in patients with MS may stem from massive demyelination and oligodendroglial destruction.