845. Disruption of the Axonal Trafficking of Tyrosine Hydroxylase mRNA Impairs Catecholamine Biosynthesis in the Axons of Sympathetic Neurons

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the catecholamine neurotransmitters. Previously, we identified a 50bp sequence element in the 3′untranslated region (3’UTR) of TH mRNA that directs TH mRNA localization to distal axons. In the present study, the hypothesis was tested that local translation of TH plays a key role in the biosynthesis of the catecholamine neurotransmitters in the...