Rat brain de-acetylating activity: stereospecific inhibition by LSD and serotonin-related compounds.

A de-acetylase (aryl acylamidase, E.C.3.5.1.13) has been isolated and partially characterized from rat brain. Previous studies have shown that this enzymatic activity is inhibited by low concentrations of serotonin. This report examines the effects of closely related tryptamine derivatives and demonstrates that enzymatic activity is stereospecifically inhibited by LSD. Similar enzymatic activity from liver was found to be insensitive to any of the compounds tested. The significance of these findings with regard to well known serotonin-LSD interactions is discussed.