Abstract
Several observations have demonstrated that the opioid system can modulate melatonin secretion from the pineal gland and that the effects of opioids may require a pineal participation. In contrast, the role played by the pineal gland in regulating the synthesis and secretion of endorphins and enkephalins in still obscure. To establish whether the neuroendocrine activity of melatonin are mediated by endogenous opioids and to demonstrate a possible action exerted by the pineal gland on opioid peptides, GH and LH serum mean levels were evaluated by RIA in 12 healthy subjects of both sexes after melatonin injection alone (0.4 mg/kg bw im at 09:00 h) and on a separate occasion after a simultaneous administration of melatonin and naloxone (1.2 mg iv as a bolus, followed by an iv infusion of 1.6 mg/h for 3 h). On an other occasion, the study was performed during saline or naloxone infusion alone. In each test, venous blood samples were collected at −20, 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min. A significant rise of GH was observed after melatonin injection alone. The simultaneous infusion of naloxone blocked melatonin-induced GH rise. Melatonin did not affected LH serum levels, while it was able to reduce LH increase induced by naloxone. These preliminary results suggest that some neuroendocrine effects of melatonin might be mediated by a modulation on the opioid tone.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Esposti D., Esposti G., Fraschini F. Effect of morphine on plasma melatonin in the rat. III Colloquium of the European Pineal Study Group. Pécs, Hungary, August 13–17, 1984.
Zatz M., Brownstein M.J. Central depressant rapidly reduce nocturnal serotonin-N-acetyltransferase activity in the rat pineal gland. Brain. Res. 160: 381, 1979.
Claustrat B., Chazot G., Brun J. Melatonin secretion in man: stimulating effect of destryrosine gamma endorphin. Neuroendocrinol. Lett. 3: 35, 1981.
Geffard M., Gaffori O., Chaveau J., Muyard J.P., Le Moal M. Dramatic increase in pineal gland melatonin levels in the rat after subcutaneous injection of des-tyrosine gamma-endorphin. Neurosci. Lett. 27: 329, 1981.
Gaffori O., Geffard M., Van Ree J.M. Des-Tyr-γ-Endorphin and haloperidol increase pineal gland melatonin levels in rats. Peptides 4: 393, 1983.
Lissoni P., Esposti D., Esposti G., Mauri R., Resentini M., Morabito F., Delitala G., Fumagalli P., Santagostino A., Fraschini F. A clinical study on the relationship between the pineal gland and the opioid system. J. Neural. Transm. 65: 63, 1986.
Lissoni P., Mauri R., Resentini M., Morabito F., Djemal S., Fraschini F. The effect of naloxone on serum melatonin level. First International Meeting of the Italian Society of Endocrinology. Recent Progress in Opioid Research, p. 39, Viareggio, Italy, October 6–8, 1983.
Lowenstein P.R., Pereyra E.N., Solveyra C.G., Cardinali D.P. Effect of naloxone on the nocturnal rise of rat pineal melatonin content. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 98: 261, 1984.
Lakin M.L., Miller C.H., Stott M.L., Winters W.D. Involvement of the pineal gland and melatonin in murine analgesia. Life Sci., 29: 2543, 1981.
Lissoni P., Mauri R., Resentini M., Morabito F., Fraschini F., Fumagalli P., Santagostino A. Beta-endorphin levels after melatonin administration in man. J. Steroid Biochem. 20: 1458, 1984.
Kumar M.S.A., Chen C.L., Sharp D.C., Liu J.M., Kalra P.S., Kalra S.P. Diurnal fluctuations in methionine-enkephalin levels in the hypotalamus and preoptic area of the male rat: effects of pinealectomy. Neuroendocrinology 35: 28, 1982.
Anton-Tay F., Chou C., Anton S., Wurtman R.J. Brain serotonin concentration: elevation following intraperitoneal administration of melatonin. Science 162: 277, 1968.
Anton-Tay F., Diaz J.L., Fernandez-Guardiola A. On the effect of melatonin upon brain. Its possible therapeutic implications. Life Sci. 10: 841, 1971.
Zisapel N., Laudon M. Dopamine release induced by electrical field stimulation of rat hypothalamus in vitro: inhibition by melatonin. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 104: 1610, 1982.
Morley J.E., Baranetsky N.G., Wingert T.D., Carlson H.E., Hershman J.M., Melmed S., Levin S.R., Jamison K.R., Weitzman R., Chang R.J., Varner A.A. Endocrine effects of naloxone-induced opiate receptor blockade. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 50: 251, 1980.
Quigley M.E., Yen S.S.C. The role of endogenous opiates on LH secretion during the menstrual cycle. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 51: 179, 1980.
Delitala G., Devilla L., Russo N.R. On the role of dopamine receptors in the naloxone-induced hormonal changes in man. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 56: 181, 1983.
Smythe G.A., Lazarus L. Growth hormone responses to melatonin in man. Science 184: 1373, 1975.
Weinberg U., Weitzman E.D., Fukushima D.K., Cnacel G.F., Rosenfeld R.F. Melatonin does not suppress the pituitary luteinizing hormone response to luteinizing hormone-releasing in men. J. Clin. Edocrinol. Metab. 51: 161, 1980.
Nordlund J., Lerner A.B. The effects of oral melatonin on skin color and on the release of pituitary hormones. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 45: 768, 1977.
Smythe G.A., Lazarus L. Suppression of human growth hormone secretion by melatonin and cyproheptadine. J. Clin. Invest. 54: 116, 1974.
Stubbs W.A., Delitala G., Jones A., Jeffcoate W.J., Edwards C.R.W., Ratter S.J., Besser G.M., Bloom S.R., Al-berti K.G.M.M. Endocrine and metabolic responses to an enkephalin analogue in normal man. Lancet 2: 1225, 1978.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Esposti, D., Lissoni, P., Mauri, R. et al. The pineal gland-opioid system relation: melatonin-naloxone interactions in regulating GH and LH releases in man. J Endocrinol Invest 11, 103–106 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03350114
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03350114