Chemical sympathectomy and clorgyline-induced stimulation of rat pineal melatonin synthesis.

The response to administration of the specific monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) blocker clorgyline was investigated in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats which were sympathectomized by injection of the false neurotransmitter 6-hydroxydopamine as newborns. In intact animals which served as controls, the contents of pineal indoles melatonin, serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan were augmented, and the content of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid decreased 90 min following clorgyline injections when compared to saline receiving rats. Sympathectomized animals exhibited similar responses but these were less pronounced. It is suggested that blocking of the oxidation of both MAO-A substrates, noradrenaline and serotonin, upon clorgyline administration results in the observed increase in melatonin synthesis which is thought to contribute to the antidepressant effects of MAO inhibition.