Seasonal variations in HIOMT activity during the night in the pineal gland of 21 day old male Wistar rats

In the pineal of 21-day old male Wistar rats hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) activities involved in the synthesis of several 5-methoxyindoles were determined during the night in April, June, October and January. A high HIOMT activity for the synthesis of melatonin/5-methoxytryptophol was d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of neural transmission Vol. 49; no. 1-2; p. 107
Main Authors Balemans, M G, Bary, F A, Legerstee, W C, Van Benthem, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Austria 01.03.1980
Subjects
5-Methoxytryptamine - biosynthesis
Acetylserotonin O-Methyltransferase - metabolism
Animals
Circadian Rhythm
Indoles - biosynthesis
Isoenzymes - metabolism
Male
Melatonin - biosynthesis
Methyltransferases - metabolism
Pineal Gland - enzymology
Rats
Seasons
Tryptophan - analogs & derivatives
Tryptophan - biosynthesis
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Summary:In the pineal of 21-day old male Wistar rats hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) activities involved in the synthesis of several 5-methoxyindoles were determined during the night in April, June, October and January. A high HIOMT activity for the synthesis of melatonin/5-methoxytryptophol was determined in the months of January and April. In June and October a decrease was observed. The activity maxima coincide with peaks of activity found for the synthesis of 5-methoxytryptophan. Synthesis of 5-methoxytryptamine occurred only in June and October, whereas the synthesis of 5-methoxyindole-3-acetic acid occurred only in January. From these results it may be concluded that January and April are the most active months of those tested for the melatonin/5-methoxytryptophol synthesis in the rat pineal gland. A possible physiological role of the 5-methoxyindoles other than melatonin and 5-methoxytryptophol is discussed.
DOI:10.1007/BF01249192