Search results for "Pinealocyte"
showing 10 items of 52 documents
Structural dissimilarities in different regions of the pineal gland of Pirbright white guinea-pigs.
1982
In the present study, the proximal, intermediate and distal parts of dumbbell-shaped pineal glands of Pirbright White guinea-pigs were investigated with respect to structural dissimilarities. The most conspicuous difference was that while in the proximal part the pinealocytes were arranged in a random fashion, the intermediate and distal regions, except a small ventral area in the latter, exhibited a prominent follicular arrangement of the pinealocytes. Concretions were restricted to the subcapsular region of the intermediate part, whereas cells with hyperchromatic nuclei increased in number in an anterior-posterior direction. In males, pinealocyte nuclear size did not differ significantly …
Electrophysiological properties of rat pinealocytes: Evidence for circadian and ultradian rhythms
1984
Extracellular single-unit recordings were made during day- and night-time in the pineal gland of urethane-anesthetized adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. All cells exhibiting spontaneous electrical activity had firing frequencies from less than 1 Hz to about 100 Hz, and their discharge patterns were characterized as regular, irregular or bursting. While most of the spontaneously active cells (n = 163) showed a uniform activity level throughout the recording period (30-120 min), a group of 9 cells exhibited oscillatory rhythms with periods of 4-8 min. In addition, long-term recordings across day- and night-time from five cells revealed increasing activity during night-time in three cells, while…
Plasticity of synaptic ribbons of the rat pineal gland in vitro — Minor effects of electrical stimulation
2003
Synaptic ribbons (SRs) of mammalian pinealocytes exhibit day/night changes in number and size, changes that are apparently regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus via postganglionic sympathetic nerve fibres. Since the neural control of SR changes is far from clear and as pinealocytes produce action potentials, we undertook to investigate whether electrical stimulation affects SR changes. Isolated rat pineal glands removed during the daytime were kept in vitro for 0, 30, 60, 90 or 120 min, with or without continuous electrical stimulation (1 mA, 1 Hz), followed by the quantification of SR profiles (SRPs) by transmission electron microscopy. SRs were categorised as to whether they lay less t…
Evidence for the presence of two 24-h rhythms 180 degrees out of phase in the pineal gland of male Pirbright-White guinea pigs as monitored by counti…
1987
Previous studies have shown that the "synaptic" bodies of mammalian pinealocytes are a heterogeneous group of organelles. Whereas "synaptic" ribbons (SR) exhibit a day/night rhythm with small numbers during daytime and high numbers at night, the so-called "synaptic" spherules (SS) show species-specific differences in their rhythmicity. In the present study the numbers of SR and SS were monitored in male guinea pigs over a full 24-h period at 4-hourly intervals (LD 12:12, lights on at 7:00). The results obtained show that the rhythms of SR numbers and SS numbers are out of phase by 180 degrees. SR numbers are small during daytime and high at night, whereas SS numbers are high during daytime …
Day-night rhythm of acetylcholine in the rat pineal gland
1997
Abstract Using high-performance-liquid-chromatography (HPLC) measurement of acetylcholine, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzyme assay and anti-ChAT immunohistochemistry, we have investigated the expression of the cholinergic system in pineal glands of male rats. Glands procured during the day period (1200 h) contained significant amounts of acetylcholine (0.5 pmol/gland). A similar content was found in pineal glands after a 48 h culture period, i.e. when the intrapineal nerve fibres have degenerated. This strongly indicates that the pinealocytes are the cells which contain acetylcholine. To confirm this conclusion we demonstrate substantial ChAT-like immunoreactivity in pinealocytes. ChA…
Transcriptional regulation of nucleoredoxin-like genes takes place on a daily basis in the retina and pineal gland of rats.
2015
AbstractThe nucleoredoxin-like gene Nxnl1 (Txnl6) and its paralogue Nxnl2 encode the rod-derived cone viability factors (RdCVF and RdCVF2), which increase the resistance to photooxidative damage and have therapeutic potential for the survival of cones in retinitis pigmentosa. In this study, the transcription of Nxnl genes was investigated as a function of the day/night cycle in rats. The transcript levels of Nxnl1 and Nxnl2 were seen to display daily rhythms with steadily increasing values during the light phase and peak expression around dark onset in preparations of whole retina, photoreceptor cells and—but only in regard to Nxnl1—in photoreceptor-related pinealocytes. The cycling of Nxnl…
Distribution of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase—like immunoreactivity in the rat pineal organ
1985
The aim of the present investigation was to study the distribution in the rat pineal gland of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) which is essential for the formation of the melatonin synthesis-regulating substance noradrenaline (NA). In 5- and 8-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats DBH-like immunoreactivity (DBH-LI) was studied using polyclonal antibodies against DBH and the indirect immunofluorescent technique. DBH-LI was mainly located in pineal nerve fibres coming from the superior cervical ganglia. The intensity of the staining reaction was considerably lower than in non-pineal noradrenergic nerve fibres and the impression was gained by comparison of DBH-LI specimens with glyoxylic acid-trea…
Electrophysiological characterization of the pineal gland of golden hamsters.
1987
In one of the most-widely used species in pineal gland research, the strongly photoperiodic golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, no electrophysiological data on pinealocytes are currently available. To fill this gap, in the present study 185 spontaneously active pinealocytes from male golden hamsters were recorded extracellularly, both during day- and night-time (light: dark cycle 12 ∶ 12, lights on at 07.00 h). As in other species, pinealocytes exhibited action potentials of 1–2 ms duration. An irregular firing pattern was observed in 95% of the pinealocytes, the remainder fired more regularly or showed a phasic discharge pattern. The firing frequencies ranged from 0.2 to 25 Hz and showed…
Melatonin signaling modulates clock genes expression in the mouse retina.
2014
Previous studies have shown that retinal melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of retinal daily and circadian rhythms. Melatonin exerts its influence by binding to G-protein coupled receptors named melatonin receptor type 1 and type 2 and both receptors are present in the mouse retina. Earlier studies have shown that clock genes are rhythmically expressed in the mouse retina and melatonin signaling may be implicated in the modulation of clock gene expression in this tissue. In this study we determined the daily and circadian expression patterns of Per1, Per2, Bmal1, Dbp, Nampt and c-fos in the retina and in the photoreceptor layer (using laser capture microdissection) in C3H-f…
Components and connections of the circadian timing system in mammals
1996
The circadian timing system is a neural network consisting of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus, aided by the retina, other hypothalamic nuclei, autonomic regions of the spinal cord, sympathetic ganglia and the pineal gland. Extensive studies conducted over the last two decades have unravelled the principal items of its functional neuroanatomy. The system is responsible for the generation of the circadian rhythm, its synchronization by environmental factors such as light, and its mediation with respect to morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of mammals that exhibit distinct alterations throughout the 24-h cycle. This review characterizes the brain sites involved an…