Effect of selective monoamine oxidase inhibitors on rat pineal melatonin synthesis in vitro.

Freshly cultured pineal glands respond to the monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) inhibitor clorgyline and to high concentrations of the MAO B inhibitor, deprenyl, with an increase in serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity and N-acetylated indoles and a fall in 5-hydroxylated serotonin degradation products. Glands cultured for 48 hours before challenge respond less. Response is absent in glands cultured for 72 hours and in glands from ganglionectomized animals cultured for 48 hours before challenge. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that these MAO inhibitors stimulate melatonin synthesis by protecting norepinephrine from degradation.