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Monoamine Oxidases: From Tissue Homogenates to Transgenic Mice

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Abstract

The regulation, structure and function of monoamine oxidases (MAO’s) have been a subject of my research for many years. Studies of the enzyme have moved from early biochemical experiments, where different forms were biochemically characterized, to the molecular biology revolution where the genes for MAO A and MAO B were cloned and sequenced. Analyses of the signal pathways of gene regulation and specific transcriptional repression of MAO gene expression followed, as did the elucidation of the role of MAO in apoptosis. And importantly, MAO’s impact on behavioral states of both mice and human beings was discovered. It is fulfilling and humbling to see how our early experiments with tissue homogenates and MAO A and MAO B gene cloning built a foundation for so much subsequent understanding of the molecular and genetic components underlying certain behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

I’d like to acknowledge Dr. Kevin Chen, my long time collaborator, who has contributed significantly to this work, many research associates, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and collaborators. I thank all of them and Dr. Tim Gallaher for preparation of this manuscript. This work is supported in part by National Institute for Mental Health Grants R37 MH39085 (MERIT Award) and RO1 MH067968 and the Boyd and Elsie Welin Professorship award (to J. C. S.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Jean Chen Shih

  2. Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jean Chen Shih

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  1. Jean Chen Shih
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Correspondence to Jean Chen Shih.

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Special issue dedicated to Dr. Moussa Youdim.

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Shih, J.C. Monoamine Oxidases: From Tissue Homogenates to Transgenic Mice. Neurochem Res 32, 1757–1761 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-007-9384-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-007-9384-z

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