Effect of chlorpromazine and other drugs on the disposition of circulating melatonin

Circadian Clock and Body Temperature

The circadian fluctuation of body temperature is one of the most prominent and stable outputs of the circadian clock and plays an important role in maintaining optimal day-night energy homeostasis. The body temperature of homothermic animals is not strictly constant, but it shows daily oscillation within a range of 1-3 °C, which is sufficient to synchronize the clocks of peripheral tissues throughout the body. The thermal entrainment mechanisms of the clock are partly mediated by the action of the heat shock transcription factor and cold-inducible RNA-binding protein-both have the ability to affect clock gene expression. Body temperature in the poikilotherms is not completely passive to the ambient temperature change; they can travel to the place of preferred temperature in a manner depending on the time of their endogenous clock. Based on this behavior-level thermoregulation, flies exhibit a clear body temperature cycle. Noticeably, flies and mice share the same molecular circuit for the controlled body temperature; in both species, the calcitonin receptors participate in the formation of body temperature rhythms during the active phase and exhibit rather specific expression in subsets of clock neurons in the brain. We summarize knowledge on mutual relationships between body temperature regulation and the circadian clock.

Melatonin increases oestrogen receptor binding activity of human breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is frequently a hormone-dependent tumour, and several studies have suggested that the pineal gland hormone melatonin may influence the growth and development of this malignancy. Subcutaneous injections of melatonin have been shown to inhibit, and pinealectomy to enhance, the development of dimethyl benz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumours in rats. Use of the psychotropic drug thorazine, which increases plasma melatonin levels, has been associated with a decreased incidence of breast cancer in psychiatric patients. Calcification of the pineal gland has been correlated with an increased incidence of breast cancer in women. While the mechanism by which melatonin influences these tumours is unknown, both human breast cancer and DMBA-induced tumours contain oestrogen receptors (ER) and respond to changes in the oestrogen milieu. We therefore wondered whether melatonin might be altering ER binding activity of these tumours. We report here that in vitro incubation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with melatonin in physiological conditions increased the cytoplasmic and nuclear ER activity of these cells within 40 min, giving no change in the equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of the receptor. This induction was blocked by cycloheximide, and thus requires continuous protein synthesis. The modulation of ER binding activity of breast cancer by another endogenous hormone may be important for understanding the behaviour and treatment of this disease, and may provide insight into the factors regulating the synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormone receptors.

Behavioral effects and metabolic fate of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in mice pretreated with beta-diethylaminoethyl-diphenylpropylacetate (SKF 525-A), improniazid and chlorpromazine

Behavioral aspects and metabolic fate of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) were studied in mice pretreated with beta-diethylaminoethyl-diphenylpropylacetate (SKF 525-A), iproniazid or chlorpromazine (CPZ). DMT at doses of 2.5, 10.0, and 25.0 mg/kg produced several behavioral changes in a dose-related manner: inhibition of spontaneous locomotor movement, enhanced fright responses to sound stimuli, trembling, head twitching, inco-ordinated movements of hind-legs, flat or extended tail and abnormal posture with the extension of hind-legs. Pretreatment with ipromazid (153 mg/kg; 4 hr) but not SKF 525-A (50 mg/kg; 1 hr) prolonged the behavioral effects produced by 2.5 mg/kg DMT while CPZ (15 mg/kg; 0.5 hr) completely abolished the responses induced by 25 mg/kg DMT. Earlier behavioral effects generally coincided with the brain concentrations of DMT. Dose-dependent increases with rapid uptake and disappearance in the brain, plasma and hepatic levels of DMT were measured with doses of 10 and 25 mg/kg DMT. Iproniazid but not SKF 525-A markedly enhanced tissue levels of DMT. it is concluded that DMT is metabolized chiefly by monoamine oxidase rather than by drug-metabolizing hepatic microsomal enzymes and that DMT-induced behavioral effects are due to the parent compound rather than its metabolite.

The pineal and psychiatry: a review

The pineal body in man is an active endocrine gland throughout life. Historically the gland has been associated with speculation on the nature of mind and its disorders. Modern research is now demonstrating it to be an endocrine gland capable of affecting the brain and behaviour. The implications for future research into this aspect of pineal function are discussed in the context of a critical review of the current literature.