Tissue-specific and developmental stage-dependent expression of a novel rat Dopa/tyrosine sulfotransferase

Tissue-specific and developmental stage-dependent expression of a novel Dopa/tyrosine sulfotransferase in Sprague-Dawley rats was examined. Both immunoblot and Northern blot analyses showed that the enzyme was expressed predominantly in liver and to a lesser extent in kidney. Its expression could not be detected in nine other organs tested. Livers from different age groups of male or female rats were examined for the developmental regulation of the expression of the Dopa/tyrosine sulfotransferase. Results from immunoblot and Northern blot analyses revealed that the enzyme was present at a very low level in livers of 1-day-old to 2-week-old rats, and gradually increased to a maximum level in rats older than 2 months. Data from the enzymatic assays also showed a similar trend of expression in both male and female rats. The Dopa/tyrosine sulfotransferase activities detected in liver samples of the 8-week-old male and female rats were, respectively, 8.6 and 6.6 times that of the activities detected in liver samples of the 1-day-old male and female rats. These data provide a foundation for the future investigation of the cis- and trans-acting factors involved in the regulation of the tissue-specific and developmental stage-dependent expression of this enzyme.