Adrenaline synthesis pathway (None)

Adrenaline synthesis is the process by which adrenaline (epinephrine) is produced through a series of enzymatic reactions in chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and certain neurons of the central nervous system. The pathway starts with phenylalanine and tyrosine, which are converted via tyrosine hydroxylase (the rate-limiting enzyme) to L-DOPA, then to dopamine (by DOPA decarboxylase), then to noradrenaline (by dopamine β-hydroxylase), and finally to adrenaline (by phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase, PNMT). Each enzyme in the pathway can itself be a therapeutic target, but "adrenaline synthesis" as a whole is not considered a single therapeutic target or molecular entity.

Other names

Catecholamine biosynthesisEpinephrine biosynthesisAdrenaline pathway

Inhibition of key synthesizing enzymes to reduce catecholamine production (e.g., tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors, DOPA decarboxylase inhibitors); Inhibition of degradation (e.g., MAO, COMT inhibitors)