Tentative immunohistochemical demonstration of melatonin in the rat pineal gland.

In the present study an attempt was made to demonstrate melatonin in the rat pineal gland by means of immunohistochemistry. The anitbody used was raised against 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptophan which is chemically similar to melatonin. Specific fluorescence was demonstrable only in pineals from rats killed during the night, when melatonin formation is high. It was restricted to parenchymal cells lying in a marginal zone of the organ. These results are discussed in relation to a subdivision of the pineal parenchyma into cortical and medullary areas.