Discrepancy between PNMT presence and relative lack of adrenaline production in extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma
✍ Scribed by Hiroomi Funahashi; Tsuneo Imai; Yuji Tanaka; Jun-Ichi Tobinaga; Masaki Wada; Takako Matsuyama; Kyosuke Tsukamura; Fumio Yamada; Hiroshi Takagi; Tatsuhiko Narita; Takashi Koshikawa
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 491 KB
- Volume
- 57
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-4790
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✦ Synopsis
Among catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, phenylethano1amine-Nmethyltransferase (PNMT) exists only in adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma has been believed not to produce adrenaline. However, adrenaline production is clinically active in some extra-adrenal cases, To investigate this controversy, the localization of catecholamine synthesizing enzymes was studied by immunohistochemical staining in extra-adrenal and adrenal cases. The results showed that PNMT was expressed not only in many cases of adrenal pheochromocytoma, but also in extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma. It is suspected that little adrenaline production in extra-adrenal cases is attributable to a lack of a good environment for the activation of PNMT by a high concentration of glucocorticoids.