Differential effects of isoproterenol injections on the levels of pineal N-acetyltransferase, serum N-acetylserotonin and melatonin

Rats housed under diurnal lighting conditions were either injected with isoproterenol (ISO), 0.5 mg/kg subcutaneous (SC) and sacrificed at different times up to 180 minutes afterwards, or injected with different doses of ISO (0.2 mg/kg to 5.0 mg/kg intraperitoneally (IP] and sacrificed 120 minutes later. Pineal N-acetyltransferase (NATase), serum N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and serum melatonin (MT) levels were determined. It was found that both pineal NATase and serum MT responded to the injection with peak increase at 120 minutes after the injection. This increase in pineal NATase and serum MT levels were also found to be dose-dependent. It was also observed that at 30 minutes after ISO injection, the serum MT level already demonstrated a significant increase which preceeded any increase in the pineal NATase activity. The underlying mechanism for this observation remains undetermined. Unlike serum MT and pineal NATase, there were no changes in serum NAS levels after injections of ISO at all the doses tested or up to 180 minutes after injection of the drug at 0.5 mg/kg dose SC. This suggests that serum NAS level is neither regulated by pineal NATase activity nor is the pineal gland the major source of NAS in circulation. This also indicates that serum NAS level is not influenced by beta-adrenergic stimulation.