2-Bromoethylamine, a suicide inhibitor of tissue-bound semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase.

Various mammalian tissues contain plasma membrane-bound amine oxidase, termed semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO). In the present study, 2-bromoethylamine has been studied with regard to inhibitory properties towards tissue-bound SSAO in rat lung. Without preincubation, 2-bromoethylamine was a competitive and reversible SSAO inhibitor with a Ki value of 2.5 microM. After preincubation, it time-dependently and non-competitively inhibited SSAO activity, probably by forming the covalently-bound enzyme-inhibitor adduct. The data presented suggest that 2-bromoethylamine may act as a suicide inhibitor of SSAO.