Immunochemical characterization of monoamine oxidase from human liver, placenta, platelets and brain cortex.

1. Antiserum raised to purified human liver monoamine oxidase was used to characterize the monoamine oxidase from human liver, brain cortex, placenta and platelets. 2. Antibodies to monoamine oxidase were purified by adsorption with a mitochondrial preparation. 3. Monoamine oxidase was present in liver particle-free supernatant as measured by enzyme activity and immunodiffusion. 4. Multiple precipitin lines were obtained on immunodiffusion analysis against the purified liver enzyme. It is proposed that this is due to either aggregation or to differential lipid binding. 5. The results suggest that the functionally different enzymes found in liver, brain cortex, platelets and placenta are immunochemically related and may be identical.