Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letters to Editor
  • Published:

Hypothalamic Regulation of the Daily Rhythm in Hepatic Tyrosine Transaminase Activity

Nature New Biology volume 230, pages 185–187 (1971)Cite this article

Abstract

THERE is a daily rhythm in the activity of tyrosine transaminase in rat liver1 which is characterized by a three-fold rise in enzyme activity from low daytime values to a peak several hours after dark. The oscillation persists in the absence of the pituitary or adrenal glands2–4 and during fasting5,6. Noradrenaline seems to play a role in the regulation of the enzyme and thereby contributes to the generation of the daily rhythm of activity7, but elevation of tissue noradrenaline in vivo suppresses the circadian enzyme rhythm at basal levels8. Noradrenaline inhibits tyrosine transaminase activity in vitro by competing with enzyme for binding with the pyridoxal-5′-phosphate co-factor7, and recent observations suggest that noradrenaline regulates tyrosine transaminase turnover in vivo by the same mechanism.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Potter, V. R., Gebert, R. A., Pitot, H. C., Peraino, C., Homar, C., jun., Lesher, S., and Morris, H., Cancer Res., 26, Part 1, 1547 (1967).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Civen, M., Ulrich, R., Trimmer, B. M., and Brown, C. B., Science, 157, 1563 (1967).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Shambaugh, G. E., III, Warner, D. A., and Beisel, W. R., Endocrinology, 81, 811 (1967).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wurtman, R. J., and Axelrod, J., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 57, 1594 (1967).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Potter, V. R., Baril, E. F., Watanabe, M., and Whittle, E. D., Fed. Proc., 27, 1238 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Black, I. B., and Axelrod, J., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 61, 1287 (1968).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Black, I. B., and Axelrod, J., J. Biol. Chem., 244, 6124 (1969).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Axelrod, J., and Black, I. B., Nature, 220, 161 (1968).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Diamondstone, T. I., Anal. Biochem., 16, 395 (1966).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hess, W. R., Diencephalon : Autonomic and Extrapyramidal Functions (Grune and Stratton, New York, 1954).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Reis, D. J., and Wurtman, R. J., Life Sci., 7, 91 (1968).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Shimazu, T., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 65, 373 (1962).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Axelrod, J., Snyder, S. H., Heller, A., and Moore, R. Y., Science, 154, 898 (1966).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Hetherington, A. W., and Ranson, S. W., Anat. Rec., 78, 149 (1940).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. DeGroot, J., and Harris, G. W., J. Physiol., 3, 335 (1950).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Porter, J. G., and Jones, J. C., Endocrinology, 58, 62 (1956).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Richter, C. P., Biological Clocks in Medicine and Psychiatry, 1 (Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 1965).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Richter, C. P., Res. Publ. Assoc. Nerv. Ment. Dis., 65, 8 (1967).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20014

    I. B. BLACK & J. AXELROD

  2. Department of Neurology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, 10021

    D. J. REIS

Authors
  1. I. B. BLACK
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. AXELROD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. J. REIS
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BLACK, I., AXELROD, J. & REIS, D. Hypothalamic Regulation of the Daily Rhythm in Hepatic Tyrosine Transaminase Activity. Nature New Biology 230, 185–187 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio230185a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio230185a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing