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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1969 Feb;62(2):544–549. doi: 10.1073/pnas.62.2.544

STIMULATION OF C14-MELATONIN SYNTHESIS FROM C14-TRYPTOPHAN BY NORADRENALINE IN RAT PINEAL IN ORGAN CULTURE*

Julius Axelrod 1,2,3,4, Harvey M Shein 1,2,3,4, Richard J Wurtman 1,2,3,4
PMCID: PMC277838  PMID: 5256232

Abstract

Previous work has shown that the activity of the melatonin-forming enzyme in the rat pineal gland is elevated in rats kept in continuous darkness as compared to those kept in continuous light. Information about environmental lighting reaches the pineal gland via nerves that liberate noradrenaline. Rat pineal glands in organ culture can form C14-melatonin from C14-tryptophan as follows: tryptophan → 5-hydroxytryptophan → serotonin → melatonin.

Noradrenaline was found to stimulate the synthesis of C14-melatonin from C14-tryptophan in rat pineals in organ culture. Other compounds related in structure to noradrenaline increase melatonin and serotonin synthesis and inhibit the formation of the deaminated product of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid. Cycloheximide, a compound that inhibits protein synthesis, also prevents the formation of serotonin, melatonin, and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid from tryptophan in pineal organ culture. These observations suggest that noradrenaline liberated from sympathetic nerves stimulates the formation of melatonin either by increasing the formation of new melatonin-forming enzyme, by increasing transport of tryptophan into the pineal cell, or by inhibiting the metabolism of serotonin by the alternate deaminating pathway.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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