Notice of Retraction: Characterization of salsolinol synthase from rat brain

Several studies estimating the function of salsolinol (1-methyl-6,7- dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline), a dopamine-derived endogenously synthesized compound, have revealed its involvement in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, a number of investigations propose that N-methylated derivates of salsolinol, N-methyl-salsolinol and its metabolite products are also involved in etiopathogenesis of PD. The human brain has a higher concentration of (R) enantiomer of salsolinol than (S)enantiomer, suggesting its enzymatic biosynthesis. Recent studies in our lab have shown salsolinol synthesized from dopamine and acetaldehyde by a novel enzyme called salsolinol synthase. In current investigations, the brains of male Sprague Dawley rats were used for crude extract isolation and HPLC-electrochemical detection (ECD) was used for the activity assay of this putative enzyme. Our results show the enzyme activity of salsolinol synthase to be maximum at 80 °C and at pH of 7. The results also showed that amount of Salsolinol synthesized by salsolinol synthase is directly proportional to the amount of substrates dopamine (DA) and acetaldehyde (Ach) at 37 °C. Its isoelectric point was 8.0 determined with Off-gel. Further characterization of this putative enzyme is under process which will highlight more profound knowledge about this putative enzyme and hence, will help elucidate the pathogenesis of Parkinson's like diseases and will provide a strong basis for treatment of such neurodegenerative diseases.