Mechanisms of Disulfiram-induced Cocaine Abstinence: Antabuse and Cocaine Relapse

Dopamine metabolism. Dopamine (DA) is metabolized intracellularly and extracellularly by the same group of enzymes, but in different orders. Inside dopaminergic cells, monoamine oxidase (MAO) converts dopamine into 3,4-dihydrophenylacetaldeyde (DOPAL), a substrate of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). ALDH then converts DOPAL into 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC). After DOPAC diffuses out of the cell, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) converts it into homovanillic acid (HVA). Extracellularly, dopamine metabolism begins by transformation into 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) by COMT. 3-MT is then oxidized into 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (MHPA) by MAO, and finally transformed into HVA by ALDH.