Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 2, 758-764, Copyright © 1982 by Society for Neuroscience
Effects of hypophysectomy and dexamethasone administration on central and peripheral S-adenosylmethionine levels
DL Wong, EL Zager and RD Ciaranello
The effects of hypophysectomy and dexamethasone administration on S-
adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels in the adrenal, liver, pineal, and various
brain regions were examined to determine the central and peripheral
relationships between SAM and glucocorticoids in vivo. A simple and
sensitive radioenzymatic assay was developed to measure tissue SAM
concentrations following removal of its demethylated metabolite,
S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), whose presence precludes accurate SAM
determinations. Three patterns of SAM control emerged. In the adrenal,
pineal, striatum, and midbrain, SAM levels fell after hypophysectomy and
were restored by dexamethasone administration. In the thalamus,
hypothalamus, hippocampus, and cerebellum, SAM levels increased after
hypophysectomy and were not altered further by dexamethasone
administration. In the liver, cortex, septum, and pons- medulla, SAM levels
were not affected by either hypophysectomy or dexamethasone administration.
These results suggest that multiple controls regulate SAM levels in vivo.
The control factors are both highly tissue and region specific. While
glucocorticoids are an important regulatory factor of SAM in some
peripheral and CNS tissues, they are not the sole regulatory factor. In CNS
regions where hypophysectomy increases SAM levels but glucocorticoid
administration does not reverse the effects, other hypothalamic hormones,
pituitary hormones, or neural factors may be involved in SAM regulation.
Likewise, in regions where neither hypophysectomy nor glucocorticoid
administration affects SAM levels, hypothalamic or neural factors may be
involved even though pituitary factors do not appear to be important.