Melatonin as a chemical indicator of environmental light-dark cycle.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an evolutionary highly conserved molecule that plays an important role in conveying the clock and calendar information to all living organisms, including man. Melatonin is synthesized in the rhythmic fashion, primarily by the pineal gland, and, to a lesser degree, by extrapineal tissues-namely the retina, the Harderian gland, and the gastrointestinal tract. The rhythm of the hormone production, with maximal levels occurring at night in darkness, is generated by an endogenous circadian clock(s) and is synchronized with the photoperiodic environment to which animals are exposed. This brief outline surveys data on the regulation of rhythmic melatonin biosynthesis by a circadian pacemaker and light (full spectrum white light and monochromatic lights with wavelengths both in the visible and invisible range). Additionally, possible applications of this chronobiotic compound in agriculture and in medicine in the treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders are discussed.

• Publication year

  1996

• Venue

  Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

• Publication date

  1996-09-30

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.55782/ane-1996-1181PMID 8917904
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Clozapine and other neuroleptic drugs antagonize the light-evoked suppression of melatonin biosynthesis in chick retina: involvement of the D4-like dopamine receptor

  2005cited by this paper
• Dose-response relationships for resetting of human circadian clock by light

  1996cited by this paper
• Psychopharmacology: The Fourth Generation of Progress.

  1996cited by this paper
• Pineal Serotonin N-Acetyltransferase: Expression Cloning and Molecular Analysis

  1995cited by this paper
• Light‐induced suppression of nocturnal serotonin N‐acetyltransferase activity in chick pineal gland and retina: A wavelength comparison

  1995influential reference
• Diurnal variation in mRNA encoding serotonin N-acetyltransferase in pineal gland

  1995cited by this paper
• Melatonin in Psychiatric and Sleep Disorders

  1995cited by this paper
• Possible involvement of D4-like dopamine receptor in regulation of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in duck retina.

  1995cited by this paper
• Clonidine in vivo mimics the acute suppressive but not the phase‐shifting effects of light on circadian rhythm of serotonin N‐acetyltransferase activity in chick pineal gland

  1994influential reference
• Dopamine receptor regulating serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in chick retina represents a D4-like subtype: pharmacological characterization.

  1994cited by this paper
• Melatonin receptors: localization, molecular pharmacology and physiological significance.

  1994cited by this paper
• Melatonin and the Mammalian Pineal Gland

  1994influential reference
• Melatonin and sleep disturbances in the elderly:possible clinical applications

  1994cited by this paper
• Comparison of circadian oscillation of melatonin release in pineal cells of house sparrow, pigeon and Japanese quail, using cell perfusion systems.

  1994influential reference
• Does D4 dopamine receptor mediate the inhibitory effect of light on melatonin biosynthesis in chick retina?

  1994cited by this paper
• Stimulation of D4-like dopamine receptor suppresses serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity but does not phase-shift the circadian oscillator in chick retina.

  1994influential reference
• Mechanisms in the Eye that Mediate the Biological and Therapeutic Effects of Light in Humans

  1993cited by this paper
• The Mammalian Pineal Gland as an End Organ of the Visual System11Work by the author was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and from the National Institutes of Health.

  1993influential reference
• Reduction in pineal N-acetyltransferase activity and pineal and serum melatonin levels in rats after their exposure to red light at night.

  1993cited by this paper
• The contribution of extrapineal sites of melatonin synthesis to circulating melatonin levels in higher vertebrates

  1993cited by this paper
• Hydroxyindole‐O‐methyltransferase activity in ocular and brain structures of rabbit and hen

  1993influential reference
• Chick retina and pineal gland differentially respond to constant light and darkness: in vivo studies on serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and melatonin content.

  1993cited by this paper
• The melatonin rhythm: both a clock and a calendar

  1993cited by this paper
• Light Treatment versus Drug Treatment in Winter Depression

  1993cited by this paper
• Light Treatment of Depressive States: Swedish Experiences at Latitude 59° North

  1993cited by this paper
• Circadian clock functions localized in xenopus retinal photoreceptors.

  1993influential reference
• The influence of the pineal gland and melatonin on the reproductive performance of domesticated female ungulates

  1992cited by this paper
• Regulatory mechanisms in melatonin biosynthesis in retina.

  1992influential reference
• Melatonin synthesis in chicken retina: effect of kainic acid-induced lesions on the diurnal rhythm and D2-dopamine receptor-mediated regulation of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity.

  1992cited by this paper
• Light suppression of nocturnal pineal and plasma melatonin in rats depends on wavelength and time of day.

  1992cited by this paper
• Circadian rhythm of tryptophan hydroxylase activity in chicken retina

  1991cited by this paper
• Pineal melatonin: cell biology of its synthesis and of its physiological interactions.

  1991influential reference
• Resetting the circadian clock in cultured Xenopus eyecups: regulation of retinal melatonin rhythms by light and D2 dopamine receptors

  1991influential reference
• Adaptation of the melatonin rhythm in human subjects following night-shift work in Antarctica.

  1991cited by this paper
• The Quail's Eye: A Biological Clock

  1990cited by this paper
• Effects of melatonin implants on selected hormonal profiles and wool growth in Merino wethers.

  1990cited by this paper
• Entrainment of a free-running human with bright light?

  1989cited by this paper
• Melatonin and its generating system in vertebrate retina: circadian rhythm, effect of environmental lighting and interaction with dopamine.

  1989influential reference
• Catecholamine receptors regulating serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity and melatonin content of chicken retina and pineal gland: D2-dopamine receptors in retina and alpha-2 adrenergic receptors in pineal gland.

  1989cited by this paper
• Circadian clock in cell culture: II. In vitro photic entrainment of melatonin oscillation from dissociated chick pineal cells

  1988influential reference
• Norepinephrine, acting via adenylate cyclase, inhibits melatonin output but does not phase-shift the pacemaker in cultured chick pineal cells.

  1988influential reference
• Photoendocrine transduction in cultured chick pineal cells: effects of light, dark, and potassium on the melatonin rhythm.

  1988influential reference
• Circadian clock in cell culture: I. Oscillation of melatonin release from dissociated chick pineal cells in flow-through microcarrier culture

  1988influential reference
• [68] Hydroxyindole O-methyltransferase

  1987cited by this paper
• The suppression of nocturnal pineal melatonin in the Syrian hamster: dose-response curves at 500 and 360 nm.

  1987cited by this paper
• The melatonin message: duration versus coincidence hypotheses.

  1987cited by this paper
• Dopamine mediates the light-evoked suppression of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in retina.

  1987cited by this paper
• Alpha-2 adrenergic regulation of melatonin release in chick pineal cell cultures

  1987cited by this paper
• Regulation of chicken pineal arylalkylamine-N-acetyl transferase by postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenergic receptors.

  1986cited by this paper
• Regulation of chicken pineal arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase by postsynaptic α2-adrenergic receptors

  1986cited by this paper
• A comparison of the efficiency of melatonin treatments in advancing oestrus in ewes.

  1986cited by this paper
• Seasonal Affective Disorder and Phototherapy

  1985cited by this paper
• Light intensities required to suppress nocturnal melatonin secretion in albino and pigmented rats.

  1984cited by this paper
• The influence of different light spectra on the suppression of pineal melatonin content in the Syrian hamster.

  1984cited by this paper
• Spectral sensitivity of a novel photoreceptive system mediating entrainment of mammalian circadian rhythms

  1984cited by this paper
• Circadian clock in Xenopus eye controlling retinal serotonin N-acetyltransferase

  1983influential reference
• Influence of light irradiance on hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activity, serotonin-N-acetyltransferase activity, and radioimmunoassayable melatonin levels in the pineal gland of the diurnally active Richardson's ground squirrel.

  1983cited by this paper
• The pineal and its hormones in the control of reproduction in mammals.

  1980influential reference
• N-acetyltransferase activity responds to environmental lighting in the eye as well as in the pineal gland

  1979cited by this paper

• Expression of gastrointestinal clock genes and associated hormones levels in hibernating and non-hibernating Daurian ground squirrels

  2026cites this paper
• Dietary melatonin supplementation mitigates the negative effects of artificial light at night in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus

  2025cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Nanomaterials Based Optical Sensors for the Detection of Melatonin and Serotonin

  2024cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Electrochemical and Optical Sensors for Detecting Tryptophan and Melatonin

  2021cites this paper
• Streetlights Disrupt Night-Time Sleep in Urban Black Swans

  2020cites this paper
• Single-cell transcriptomics allows novel insights into aging and circadian processes

  2020cites this paper
• Approaching Complex Diseases: Network-Based Pharmacology and Systems Approach in Bio-Medicine

  2020cites this paper
• Advances in Characterizing Recently-Identified Molecular Actions of Melatonin: Clinical Implications

  2020cites this paper
• The regulation of gastric ghrelin secretion

  2020cites this paper
• The physiological effects of artificial light at night on the Australian black field cricket

  2018cites this paper
• Season-dependent effects of photoperiod and temperature on circadian rhythm of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase2 gene expression in pineal organ of an air-breathing catfish, Clarias gariepinus.

  2017cites this paper
• Consequences of evolutionary transitions in changing photic environments

  2017cites this paper
• Constant illumination reduces circulating melatonin and impairs immune function in the cricket Teleogryllus commodus

  2015cites this paper
• Melatonin: a possible link between the presence of artificial light at night and reductions in biological fitness

  2015cites this paper
• Pineal oscillator functioning in the chicken – Effect of photoperiod and melatonin

  2014cites this paper
• Seasonal Variations in the Expression of the mRNA Encoding ß1-Adrenoceptor and AA-NAT Enzyme, and in the AA-NAT Activity in the Pineal Gland of Vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus maximus) – Correlation With Serum Melatonin

  2003cites this paper
• Rhythmic changes in metabolism of dopamine in the chick retina: the importance of light versus biological clock

  2003cites this paper
• The modulation of neuronal activity by melatonin: In vitro studies on mouse hippocampal slices

  2001cites this paper
• The Cause of Autism : A Hypothesis Autism Viewed as a Consequence of Pineal Gland Malfunction

  2001cites this paper
• Sleep patterns and sleep-related complaints of Brazilian interstate bus drivers.

  2000cites this paper
• Reentrainment of the spontaneous locomotor activity rhythm to a daylight reversal in C57BL/6 and C3H/He mice: implication of melatonin.

  2000cites this paper
• The effects of near‐ultraviolet light on serotonin N‐acetyltransferase activity in the chick pineal gland

  1999cites this paper
• Day and Night Dysfunction in Intraretinal Melatonin and Related Indoleamines Metabolism, Correlated with the Development of Glaucoma‐Like Disorder in an Avian Model

  1998cites this paper
• Effects of near-ultraviolet light on the nocturnal serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity of rat pineal gland.

  1998cites this paper
• Effects of a daylight cycle reversal on locomotor activity in several inbred strains of mice.

  1998cites this paper
• Melatonin and its physiological and therapeutic properties

  1998cites this paper
• 5-Methoxytryptophol rhythms in the chick pineal gland: effect of environmental lighting conditions.

  1998cites this paper
• Dopamine D4-like receptors in vertebrate retina: does the retina offer a model for the D4-receptor analysis?

  1997cites this paper