Manganese-stimulated redox cycling of dopamine derivatives: Implications for manganism.

Manganism, the condition caused by chronic exposure to high levels of manganese, selectively targets the dopamine-rich basal ganglia causing a movement disorder with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. While the basis for this specific targeting is unknown, we hypothesize that it may involve complexation of Mn by dopamine derivatives. At micromolar concentrations, MnCl accelerates the two-equivalent redox cycling of a dopamine-derived benzothiazine (dopathiazine) by an order of magnitude.