MOLECULE

Methylamine

Methylamine, also known as aminomethane or methanamine, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as monoalkylamines. These are organic compounds containing a primary aliphatic amine group. Methylamine is a strong basic compound (based on its pKa). It has a strong odor similar to fish. Industrially, methylamine is used as a building block for the synthesis of many other commercially available compounds. Methylamine exists in all living organisms, ranging from bacteria to humans. Methylamine is found in relatively high concentrations in a number of plant foods such as wild carrots, carrots, and tea and in a lower concentration in cabbages, corns, and barley. Methylamine has also been detected, but not quantified in, several other plant foods, such as soybeans, wild celeries, french plantains, and common grapes. It has also been detected in cow’s milk. This could make methylamine a potential biomarker for the consumption of these foods. Methylamine occurs endogenously from amine catabolism and its tissue levels increase in some pathological conditions, including diabetes. In the human body methylamine and ammonia levels are reciprocally controlled by a semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase activity that deaminates methylamine to formaldehyde with the production of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide ( PMID: 18845121). Methylamine also targets the voltage-operated neuronal potassium channels, probably inducing release of neurotransmitter(s) ( PMID: 16049393). Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) catalyzes the deamination of primary amines. This kind of deamination has been shown capable of regulating glucose transport in adipose cells. Increased serum SSAO activities have been found in patients with diabetic mellitus, vascular disorders, and Alzheimer's disease (PMID: 18691041). The SSAO-catalyzed deamination of endogenous substrates like methylamine is known to lead to the production of toxic formaldehyde. Chronic elevated methylamine increases the excretion of malondialdehyde and microalbuminuria. Amine oxidase substrates such as methylamine have been shown to stimulate glucose uptake by increasing the recruitment of the glucose transporter GLUT4 from vesicles within the cell to the cell surface. Methylamine has been identified as a uremic toxin according to the European Uremic Toxin Working Group (PMID: 22626821 ).