Effects of melatonin on heart rate in rats

멜라토닌이 랫트에서 심박수에 미치는 영향

Evidence from the last 10 years have been suggested that melatonin mainly produce a depressant effect on the cardiac system, but we found an activating effect of melatonin on heart rate in this research. To determine the hypothesis that melatonin has dual effects on physiological behaviour of cardiac system, we investigated the effects of melatonin on heart rate in isolated rat atria and anesthetized rats. Regardless of concentration, melatonin produced bradycardia in the 84 cases of 148 experiments (57 %) and tachycardia in the 64 cases of 148 experiments (43 %). And in atrium, melatonin produced a decrease automaticity in 52 cases of 86 experiments (60 %) and increase automaticity in 40 % (34/86 cases). Also, these effects are not significnat relationship with concetration of melatonin. The melatonin-induced bradycardia in vivo was inhibited by pretreatment of atropine or bilateral cervical vagotomy. Also, in isolated atrium the melatonin-induced decrease in automaticity was inhibited by pretreatment of atropine. These melatonin-induced responses were potenitated by pretreatment of propranolol. The melatonin-induced tachycardia in vivo was inhibited by pretreatment of propranolol, nifedipine or bilateral cervical vagotomy, but not by pretreatment of atropine. The melatonin-induced incease in automaticity in isolated atrium was converted to decrease in automaticity by pretreatment of propranolol. In addition, the change in heart rate caused by adrenoceptor agonists was inhibited by pretreatment of melatonin. These results indicate that melatonin-induced bradycardia may be related to a muscarinic receptor activation and melatonin-induced tachycardia may be related to a $\beta$-adrenoceptor stimulation.