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Pinealocyte

About: Pinealocyte is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1605 publications have been published within this topic receiving 55609 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Observations suggest that the left habenulum is under dual control (neuronal and hormonal) of the parietal eye/pineal complex, and that melatonin may play a significant role in neural processing of visual information.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study reveals that discrete differences in pineal signal transduction exist between the cow and rodent, and emphasizes the potential importance that the analysis of ungulate pinealocytes may play in understanding regulation of pineal melatonin biosynthesis in primates and man.
Abstract: Limited studies of the regulation of pineal melatonin biosynthesis in ungulates indicate that it differs considerably from that in rodents. Here we have investigated several signal transduction cascades and their impact on melatonin synthesis in bovine pinealocytes. Norepinephrine increased the intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) via α1-adrenergic receptors. Activation of β-adrenergic receptors enhanced cAMP accumulation and rapidly elevated arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) activity and melatonin secretion. The β-adrenergically evoked increases in AANAT activity were potentiated by α1-adrenergic stimulation, but this was not seen with cAMP or melatonin production. PACAP treatment caused small increases in cAMP, AANAT activity and melatonin biosynthesis, apparently in a subpopulation of cells. VIP and glutamate did not influence any of these parameters. Activation of nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors increased [Ca2+]i, but did not alter cAMP levels, AANAT activity or melatonin production. Our study reveals that discrete differences in pineal signal transduction exist between the cow and rodent, and emphasizes the potential importance that the analysis of ungulate pinealocytes may play in understanding regulation of pineal melatonin biosynthesis in primates and man, whose melatonin-generating system appears to be more similar to that in ungulates than to that in rodents.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is reported that the Ca(2+) influx triggered by NE significantly regulates the protein level of serotonin N-acetyl transferase, or arylalkylamine N- acetyltransferase (AANAT), a critical enzyme in melatonin production, and is responsible for maintaining the Ca (2+) response after repetitive stimulation.
Abstract: Norepinephrine (NE) is one of the major neurotransmitters that determine melatonin production in the pineal gland. Although a substantial amount of Ca2+ influx is triggered by NE, the Ca2+ entry pa...

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Methylation interference and DNase I footprinting identified the BEF‐binding site sequence as 5′‐CCAAGGTCACGTGGC‐3′ and it is proposed that this 15‐bp sequence may contribute to increased expression of AC1 in neurons and pinealocytes relative to other cells.
Abstract: The Ca2+-stimulated type 1 adenylyl cyclase (AC1) contributes to several forms of synaptic plasticity and is the only known neurospecific adenylyl cyclase. Furthermore, the protein and mRNA levels of AC1 undergo a circadian oscillation in the pineal gland, and AC1 may play a pivotal role in regulating nocturnal melatonin synthesis. To better understand the expression of AC1, we isolated mouse genomic DNA clones of AC1. The transcription and translation start regions of mouse AC1 share extensive homologies with the bovine counterpart. The upstream proximal region has potential binding sites for transcription factors, including the steroid receptor family, the E-box factors, and Sp1. A 280-bp fragment that contains the transcription start site directed reporter gene expression in cultured cortical neurons and pinealocytes functioning as a basal neuro- and pineal-directed promoter. Interestingly, pinealocyte expression of the reporter gene was inhibited by increases in cAMP. This cAMP sensitivity may explain why AC1 mRNA in the pineal is low at night when cAMP is elevated and high during the day when cAMP signals drop. An adjacent 330-bp fragment interacted specifically with nuclear factor(s) that we designate binary E-box factor (BEF). Methylation interference and DNase I footprinting identified the BEF-binding site sequence as 5'-CCAAGGTCACGTGGC-3'. When linked to the basal tissue-directed promoter, this 15-bp sequence further enhanced reporter expression in neurons and pinealocytes. We propose that this 15-bp sequence may contribute to increased expression of AC1 in neurons and pinealocytes relative to other cells.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Rat pineal alpha 2-adrenergic receptors were unaltered after nerve endings degenerated, establishing that alpha 2D-like adrenergic receptors are located on pinealocytes.
Abstract: alpha 2-Adrenergic receptors in rat pineal membranes were characterized using p-[125I]iodoclonidine, a highly selective, high specific activity ligand. Binding was rapid (association constant rate = 0.0462 nM/min-1) and reversible after the addition of phentolamine (apparent dissociation rate constant = 0.04 min-1). Saturation experiments indicate the presence of a single class of noncooperative binding sites, with an equilibrium binding constant (Kd) of 1.1 +/- 0.3 nM and a binding capacity (Bmax) of 69 +/- 9 fmol/mg protein. Analysis of the relative potency of selected adrenoreceptor agonists and antagonists in competition studies with p-[125I]iodoclonidine indicates that the ligand is binding to a member of the family of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors that has a high affinity for oxymetazoline, phentolamine, and (-)norepinephrine and a low affinity for prazosin, similar to the recently described alpha 2-adrenergic receptor present in the bovine pineal gland, classified as belonging to the newly described...

20 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202310
202219
202116
202011
201915
201817