Acetylation of serotonin in vitro by a human N-acetyltransferase

1. There is a well-recognized genetic polymorphism for the N-acetylation of isoniazid and sulphamethazine by human livers. 2. Serotonin was found to be acetylated by human liver enzyme preparations and the N-acetylserotonin formed was identified and determined quantitatively. 3. In 13 livers examined there was a wide variability in the capacity to acetylate serotonin that did not correlate with the capacity of the same livers to acetylate isoniazid and sulphamethazine. The results suggest that serotonin is not a natural substrate for the polymorphic N-acetyltransferase and that it may be acetylated by a different enzyme.