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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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TL;DR: It is suggested that basal levels of pineal 5-hydroxytryptamine may be stored within adrenergic nerve endings which innervate the pinealocytes responsible for synthesizing this amine, thus “protecting” or otherwise making unavailable this pool of 5-HydroxyTryptamine for metabolic utilization.
Abstract: Rates of 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis in various brain tissues can be estimated from the linear increase in 5-hydroxytryptophan levels following inhibition of 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylation with RO4-4602 or NSD-1015. In addition, NSD-1015 can prevent 5-hydroxytryptamine oxidative-deamination via monoamine oxidase inhibition, leading to linear decreases in a major metabolite of this amine, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid. In the rat pineal gland we demonstrated similar increases in 5-hydroxytryptophan levels after nocturnal or diurnal injection of RO4-4602 (100 mg · kg−1) or NSD-1015 (200 mg · kg−1). Similar decreases in 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid were also observed after nocturnal or diurnal injection of NSD-1015 or pargyline (an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase) (75 mg · kg−1). 5-Hydroxytryptamine levels increased after nocturnal pargyline injection but remained constant after diurnal pargyline administration. 5-Hydroxytryptamine levels exhibited little change following nocturnal injection of NSD-1015 but decreased linearly after diurnal injection of NSD-1015. We suggest that (1) rat pineal 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis is increased nocturnally, (2) metabolic utilization, primarily by oxidative-deamination, of 5-hydroxytryptamine is increased diurnally and (3) basal levels of pineal 5-hydroxytryptamine may be stored within adrenergic nerve endings which innervate the pinealocytes responsible for synthesizing this amine, thus “protecting” or otherwise making unavailable this pool of 5-hydroxytryptamine for metabolic utilization.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Pinealocytes of rhesus monkeys that were ovariectomized and given intramuscular injections of 250 μg estradiol-benzoate for 3 consecutive days tended to have more synaptic ribbons (SR) and exhibited a significantly greater size of ribbon fields (RF) compared to untreated animals, consistent with hypotheses that pinealocyte function in primates is altered by hormonal imbalances.
Abstract: Pinealocytes of rhesus monkeys that had been ovariectomized and given intramuscular injections of 250 μg estradiol-benzoate for 3 consecutive days tended to have more synaptic ribbons (SR) and exhibited a significantly greater size of ribbon fields (RF) compared to untreated animals. These data are consistent with hypotheses that pinealocyte function in primates is altered by hormonal imbalances and that the SR participates in this response. RF were positioned in various parts of the cytoplasm and along the plasma membrane. Participation of SR in direct cell-to-cell contacts was suggested by the formation of densities along the plasma membrane. It is postulated that large RF serve as storage organelles and that the formation of RF results from division of pre-existing SR in each field. Reconstructions made from serial thin sections revealed that profiles of RF comprised separate SR that were not folded and sectioned along various planes.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Calbindin‐D28k, calretinin, and recover in immunoreactivities in developing chick pineal gland are studied in immunofiltration and recovery studies.
Abstract: Calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and recoverin, three intracellular calcium-binding proteins belonging to the troponin C/calmodulin superfamily, were immunohistochemically localized in chick pineal during development [from embryonic day 16 (E16) to postnatal day 14 (P14)]. At E18, only calretinin immunoreactivity could be detected in nuclei from follicular pinealocytes. With development, calretinin immunoreactivity expanded from nucleus to cytoplasm, and calretinin immuno-positive cell number increased. At P14 almost al pinealocytes were calretinin positive. Calbindin-D28k immunoreactivity was not detected before E20. During development, many follicular and parafollicular pinealocytes became strongly calbindin-D28k positive, reaching a peak both in intensity and in number at P7; thereafter their number decreased. In addition to pinealocytes, neuron-like cells appeared calbindin-D28k positive at E20 and calretinin positive at P7. Recoverin, a myristoylated protein isolated from vertebrate photoreceptor and which might participate in the inactivation of the phototransduction cascade, was transiently expressed in follicular and parafollicular pinealocytes from P1 to P14 with a maximal expression at P7. This transitory expression may coincide with a transitory light sensitivity period in chick pinealocytes, before complete maturity of the pineal gland.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Membrane properties and responsiveness to norepinephrine were studied in pinealocytes in tissue culture using both conventional and whole-cell patch-clamp techniques.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Compared to other mammalian species, the electrophysiological properties of golden hamster pinealocytes appear to be basically similar.
Abstract: 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 clear time-dependent differences. From 07.00 h to 22.00 h the mean firing frequencies were identical, i.e. in the range of 2 Hz; between 22.00 h and 01.00 h mean discharge rate increased to 5 Hz and exhibited a peak of 7 Hz between 01.00 h and 04.00 h, followed by a decrease to 4 Hz between 04.00 h and 07.00 h. Electrical stimulation of the superior cervical ganglion during day-time resulted in an augmentation of firing frequency in some pinealocytes and a decrease in others; during night-time, inhibitory responses only were observed. Photic stimulation, or electrical stimulation of either the optic chiasm or the habenular nuclei mostly decreased the firing rate of pinealocytes. Compared to other mammalian species, the electrophysiological properties of golden hamster pinealocytes appear to be basically similar.

19 citations


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