Adenosine deaminase was determined in 28 different areas of the human neuraxis in 5 adult male cadavers, with no known disease of the nervous system, using a very sensitive colorimetric method. The enzyme was highest in the frontal lobe white matter, and lowest in the medulla and all levels of the spinal cord. Enzyme content was about twice as great in the white matter of the frontal and temporal lobes and cerebellum as it was in the cortical gray matter of these areas, but only slightly higher in the white matter of the parietal and occipital lobes as compared to gray. Average values of the enzyme were found in the remaining areas of the brain, with the exception of the pons and cerebellar white matter, where a higher than average value was noted.

The activity of purine nucleoside phosphorylase was determined at various levels of the human neuraxis in 5 brains and 2 spinal cords, using the method of Lewis and Glantz. The determination is based on the decrease in optical density of guanosine at 252 nm and 40 °C, with conversion of this compound to guanine and ribose-l-phosphate by phosphorolysis. Our studies show a fairly uniform distribution of the enzyme in the human CNS, with an average value of 209 μmol of guanosine transformed/min/g of wet tissue. The lowest values are found in the spinal cord and cerebellar grey matter, and highest amounts in the occipital grey and white substance.

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Because of the importance of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in brain function, a histochemical method for visualizing the enzyme in various areas of the human neuraxis was devised, using an MTT [3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] method and glutaraldehyde fixation. Controls consisted of preincubation without the substrate, incubation with omission successively of the substrate, MTT tetrazolium, purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), xanthine oxidase (XO), NaCl, boiling for 20 min prior to fixation and incubation, and of incubation of sections with two powerful inhibitors of the enzyme, i.e., 2'-deoxycoformycin and EHNA [erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine.HCl]. The positive reaction consisted of the deposition of brownish-purple granules, as well as a diffuse nongranular reaction in the cytoplasm of neurons and glial cells, and in the interstitial spaces. Sections from 15 different areas in four brains were examined by this method. This is the first time that adenosine deaminase has been demonstrated histochemically in the nervous system of humans or of any other species.