Presynaptic dopamine and serotonin receptors modulating tyrosine hydroxylase activity in synaptosomes of the nucleus accumbens of rats.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity was determined by measuring the formation of [3H]DOPA from [3,5-3H]tyrosine in the crude synaptosomal fraction of the nucleus accumbens under conditions preventing dopamine reuptake in 30 mM K+-containing medium. TH seems to be allosterically activated under depolarizing conditions: a 4.4 fold decrease of the Km value for tyrosine of the synaptosomal TH was observed.