Occurrence of phenolsulfotransferase in primary glial culture cells of rat.

Phenolsulfotransferase (PST) activity towards phenol and monoamines was determined in rat brain and in primary cultures of rat astrocytes. The pH requirement, Km values and the proportion of PST activity with respect to phenol and dopamine as substrates were similar between PST from the glial cells and the rat cortex. The enzyme activity increased with age in the brain of older animals, and also with increasing incubation time in the primary culture of astroglia. The specific PST activity of the astroglia appeared to be higher than that of the brain enzyme. In glial cultures treated with 0.25 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP in the same culture conditions, PST activity is suppressed to about 25% of its untreated counterpart, even though dibutyryl cyclic AMP at concentrations of ImM only slightly inhibited PST activity in vitro.