MilliporeSigma™ Catechol O-methyltransferase/COMT, Rabbit, Unlabeled, Polyclonal,

Description

• Catechol O-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.6; UniProt P21964) is encoded by the COMT gene (Gene ID 1312) in human
• Catechol-O-methyltransferase initiates the metabolic breakdown of catecholamines (including the neurotransmitters dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) by catalyzing the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to catecholamines in the presence Mg++
• This O-methylation results in one of the major degradative pathways of the catecholamine transmitters
• In addition to endogenous substances, COMT is also important in the metabolism of catechol drugs
• Two isoforms exist as a result of alternative initiation codon usage
• The membrane-bound isoform or MB-COMT contains a short N-terminal cytoplasmic tail (a.a
• 1-6), a transmembrane segment (a.a
• 7-26), and a large C-terminal extracellular region (a.a
• 27-271), while the soluble or S-COMT isoform lacks the N-terminal 50-amino acid sequence of MB-COMT
• MB-COMT and S-COMT differ in their substrate affinity and capacities
• Despite having a lower capacity than S-COMT, MB-COMT has around a 10-fold greater affinity for dopamine and noradrenaline, and therefore is likely to be better suited for metabolizing catecholamines at the concentrations found in brain
• The influence of the Val(158)Met polymorphic form of catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) on brain activation and functional connectivity is the subject of numerous studies.