Professor Peter Dunkley

The catecholamines are critical for a range of normal functions and they are especially important in the stress response. However, the catecholamines are also involved in a number of pathologies, for example dopamine is lost in Parkinson’s disease, noradrenaline is altered in depression and adrenaline is altered in hypertension. Tyrosine hydroxylase is critical for the maintenance of normal levels of the catecholamines and it is altered in pathological situations.

We need to understand how the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase is controlled before we can understand how it is altered in pathologies. Our major contributions have been in understanding just how this enzyme is controlled and as a result of our basic studies we now have insight not previously available into Parkinson’s disease and depression.

Top 4 Publications:
Dunkley, P. R., Bobrovskaya, L., Graham, M., von Nagy-Felsobuki, E. and Dickson, P. W. (2004) Tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation: regulation and consequences. J. Neurochem. 91, 1025-1043. (SCI 4.83, 25 cites)

Camarrota, M., Bevilaqua, L.R.M., Rostas J.A.P. and Dunkley, P.R. (2003) Histamine activates tyrosine hydroxylase in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells through a pathway that involves ERK1/2, but not p38 or JNK J Neurochem., 84, 453-458. (SCI 4.83, 5 cites)

Bobrovskaya, L., O’Dell A, Leal, R. B. and Dunkley P.R. (2001)  Tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells: the role of MAPK’s after Angiotensin II-stimulation.  J Neurochem., 78, 490-498.  (SCI 4.83, 14 cites)

Lenyel, I., Hall, Fieuw-Makaroff, S., A., Sim, A.T.R., Rostas, J.A.P. and Dunkley, P.R. (2000). Modulation of the activity of calcium and calmodulin stimulated protein kinase II by zinc. J Neurochem., 75, 594-605.  (SCI 4.83, 16 cites)