Evidence of inactivation of pineal indoleamine N-acetyltransferase by protein thiol:disulfide exchange.

Pineal indoleamine N-acetyltransferase activity in homogenates is rapidly reduced at pH 6.8 by treatment with cystamine or arginine vasotocin. Other disulfides including glutathione disulfide, penicillamine disulfide, and N,N'-diacetylcystamine are either ineffective or less effective. The diamine analogous to cystamine, diaminohexane, is also ineffective. Inactivation by cystamine is accelerated at higher pH and is temperature- and time-dependent. It was also found that cystamine treatment inactivated N-acetyltransferase in intact pineal cells. Treatment with dithiothreitol reactivated the cystamine- or arginine vasotocin-inactivated enzyme formed in broken cell preparations and the cystamine-inactivated enzyme formed in intact cells. These observations indicate that pineal N-acetyltransferase can be inactivated by protein thiol:disulfide exchange; further research is required to ascertain whether this mechanism is of physiological significance.