Abstract
MELATONIN (5-methoxy N-acetyltryptamine) is synthesized in the pineal glands of mammals through the action of the enzyme hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) (refs. 1 and 2). Because the activity of this enzyme varies diurnally among rats kept in cyclic lighting conditions, it has been suggested that melatonin secretion follows a similar rhythmic pattern3. Melatonin has been identified in urine and in peripheral nerve4. Neither the kidney nor nervous tissue contains measurable HIOMT activity, however, and this has been taken as evidence that the indole is secreted from the pineal. It has not yet been possible to demonstrate melatonin in blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); this inability may result from the absence of melatonin in body fluids, a very rapid rate of inactivation once the indole leaves the pineal, or the lack of sensitive techniques for assaying melatonin. For this reason, it is not known whether melatonin is normally secreted into the blood or the CSF.
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References
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ANTON-TAY, F., WURTMAN, R. Regional Uptake of 3H-Melatonin from Blood or Cerebrospinal Fluid by Rat Brain. Nature 221, 474–475 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/221474a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/221474a0
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