title: Serotonin content and melatonin production in the pineal gland of the male Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus).
abstract: Diurnal variations in serum melatonin levels and pineal concentrations of serotonin (5-HT), N-acetylserotonin (NAS), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), and melatonin were estimated in adult male Djungarian hamsters kept under long-day (LD 16:8) or short-day (LD 8:16) photoperiods. The nocturnal increase in melatonin production was accompanied by a marked drop in pineal serotonin concentrations. Serotonin levels, however, decreased approximately 4 hr before pineal melatonin increased. Correlations of the mean values for pineal serotonin and pineal melatonin indicated significant correlations at both LD 16:8 (r = -0.92, P less than 0.001) and LD 8:16 (r = -0.85, P less than 0.001). The mean levels of pineal serotonin and serum melatonin were correlated as well (LD 16:8, r = -0.91, P less than 0.001; LD 8:16, r = -0.81, P less than 0.01). The levels of pineal serotonin declined at approximately the same time as serum melatonin levels increased. These data suggest that the drop in pineal serotonin is primarily a consequence of melatonin production (as reflected by increasing serum concentrations). Consequently, pineal concentrations of melatonin may not be the best estimate of actual melatonin production, but a measure of how much melatonin is accumulated within the pineal due to high synthesis rates while the release of the hormone from the gland is limited.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Reproductive Medicine, University of Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lerchl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schlatt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D006224:Cricetinae; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012701:Serotonin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D008550:Melatonin