Description
Monoamine oxidase A is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MAO-A gene. MAOA is an isozyme of monoamine oxidase which is also mapped on Xp11.3. MAOA degrades amine neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. The protein localizes to the outer mitochondrial membrane. Mutation in MAOA results in monoamine oxidase deficiency, or Brunner syndrome. In humans, there is a 30-base repeat sequence repeated in one of several different numbers of times in the promoter region of the gene coding for MAOA. MAO-A levels in the brain as measured using positron emission tomography are elevated by an average of 34% in patients with major depressive disorder. Inhibition of MAOA prevented apoptosis, and serum starvation of cortical brain cells from Maoa-deficient mice resulted in reduced apoptosis compared with wildtype mice