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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: It is shown with an in vivo approach that the norepinephrine cAMP-dependent rhythmic hormone production in rat pineal gland is accompanied by a temporally regulated switch in the ratio of a transcriptional activator, phosphorylated cAMP–responsive element–binding protein (pCREB), and a transcriptionAL inhibitor, inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER).
Abstract: Neurotransmitter-driven activation of transcription factors is important for control of neuronal and neuroendocrine functions. We show with an in vivo approach that the norepinephrine cAMP-dependent rhythmic hormone production in rat pineal gland is accompanied by a temporally regulated switch in the ratio of a transcriptional activator, phosphorylated cAMP-responsive element–binding protein (pCREB), and a transcriptional inhibitor, inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER). pCREB accumulates endogenously at the beginning of the dark period and declines during the second half of the night. Concomitant with this decline, the amount of ICER rises. The changing ratio between pCREB and ICER shapes the in vivo dynamics in mRNA and, thus, protein levels of arylalkylamine- N -acetyltransferase, the rate-limiting enzyme of melatonin synthesis. Consequently, a silenced ICER expression in pinealocytes leads to a disinhibited arylalkylamine- N -acetyltransferase transcription and a primarily enhanced melatonin synthesis.

127 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review summarizes anatomical, structural, and molecular aspects of the evolution of the melatonin‐producing system in vertebrates and highlights differences between fish and frogs and mammals.
Abstract: In most species daily rhythms are synchronized by the photoperiodic cycle. They are generated by the circadian system, which is made of a pacemaker, an entrainment pathway to this clock, and one or more output signals. In vertebrates, melatonin produced by the pineal organ is one of these outputs. The production of this time-keeping hormone is high at night and low during the day. Despite the fact that this is a well-preserved pattern, the pathways through which the photoperiodic information controls the rhythm have been profoundly modified from early vertebrates to mammals. The photoperiodic control is direct in fish and frogs and indirect in mammals. In the former, full circadian systems are found in photoreceptor cells of the pineal organ, retina, and possibly brain, thus forming a network where melatonin could be a hormonal synchronizer. In the latter, the three elements of a circadian system are scattered: the photoreceptive units are in the eyes, the clocks are in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, and the melatonin-producing units are in the pineal cells. Intermediate situations are observed in sauropsids. Differences are also seen at the level of the arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), the enzyme responsible for the daily variations in melatonin production. In contrast to tetrapods, teleost fish AANATs are duplicated and display tissue-specific expression; also, pineal AANAT is special--it responds to temperature in a species-specific manner, which reflects the fish ecophysiological preferences. This review summarizes anatomical, structural, and molecular aspects of the evolution of the melatonin-producing system in vertebrates.

127 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In the upper portion of GIT, melatonin exhibits a wide spectrum of activities such as circadian entrainment, free radicals scavenging activity, protection of mucosa against various irritants and healing of various GIT lesions such as stomatitis, esophagitis, gastritis and peptic ulcer.
Abstract: Melatonin, an indole formed enzymatically from L-tryptophan, is the most versatile and ubiquitous hormone molecule produced not only in all animals but also in some plants. This review focuses on the role of melatonin in upper portion of gastrointestinal tract (GIT), including oral cavity, esophagus, stomach and duodenum, where this indole is generated and released into the GIT lumen and into the portal circulation to be uptaken, metabolized by liver and released with bile into the duodenum. The biosynthetic steps of melatonin with two major rate limiting enzymes, arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), transforming tryptophan to melatonin, originally identified in pinealocytes have been also detected in entero-endocrine (EE) cells of GIT wall, where this indole may act via endocrine, paracrine and/or luminal pathway through G-protein coupled receptors. Melatonin in GIT was shown to be generated in about 500 times larger amounts than it is produced in pineal gland. The production of melatonin by pineal gland shows circadian rhythm with high night-time peak, especially at younger age, followed by the fall during the day-light time. As a highly lipophilic substance, melatonin reaches all body cells within minutes, to serve as a convenient circadian timing signal for alteration of numerous body functions.. Following pinealectomy, the light/dark cycle of plasma melatonin levels disappears, while its day-time blood concentrations are attenuated but sustained mainly due to its release from the GIT. After oral application of tryptophan, the plasma melatonin increases in dose-dependent manner both in intact and pinealectomized animals, indicating that extrapineal sources such as GIT rather than pineal gland are the major producers of this indole. In the upper portion of GIT, melatonin exhibits a wide spectrum of activities such as circadian entrainment, free radicals scavenging activity, protection of mucosa against various irritants and healing of various GIT lesions such as stomatitis, esophagitis, gastritis and peptic ulcer. This review concentrates on the generation and pathophysiological implication of melatonin in upper GIT.

125 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A common neuroendocrine principle, the nocturnal rise in melatonin, is controlled by strikingly diverse regulatory mechanisms and reflects the high adaptive plasticity of the melatonin‐generating pineal organ.
Abstract: The day/night rhythm in melatonin production is a characteristic feature in vertebrate physiology. This hormonal signal reliably reflects the environmental light conditions and is independent of behavioral aspects. In all mammalian species, melatonin production is regulated by norepinephrine, which is released from sympathetic nerve fibers exclusively at night. Norepinephrine elevates the intracellular cAMP concentration via beta-adrenergic receptors and activates the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A. This pathway is crucial for regulation of the penultimate enzyme in melatonin biosynthesis, the arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT); cAMP/protein kinase A may, however, act in different ways. In ungulates and primates, pinealocytes constantly synthesize AANAT protein from continually available Aanat mRNA. During the day-in the absence of noradrenergic stimulation-the protein is immediately destroyed by proteasomal proteolysis. At nighttime, elevated cAMP levels cause phosphorylation of AANAT by protein kinase A. This posttranslational modification leads to interaction of phosphorylated AANAT with regulatory 14-3-3 proteins, which protect AANAT from degradation. Increases in AANAT protein are paralleled by increases in enzyme activity. Stimulation of the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway may also activate pineal gene expression. In rodents, transcriptional activation of the Aanat gene is the primary mechanism for the induction of melatonin biosynthesis and results in marked day/night fluctuations in Aanat mRNA. It involves protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation of the transcription factor cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and binding of phosphorylated CREB in the promoter region of the Aanat gene. In conclusion, a common neuroendocrine principle, the nocturnal rise in melatonin, is controlled by strikingly diverse regulatory mechanisms. This diversity has emerged in the course of evolution and reflects the high adaptive plasticity of the melatonin-generating pineal organ.

124 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that adenylate cyclase of pinealocytes is inactive during daytime, but is activated at night in darkness, which is transduced to the synthesis of N‐acetyltransferase molecules.
Abstract: —When pineal glands of 10–12-day-old chicks were organ-cultured in darkness, serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity was low during the daytime, increased at midnight and then decreased to the daytime level the next morning. The pattern of increase and decrease of enzyme activity in cultured pineal glands was comparable to the circadian rhythm of N-acetyltransferase activity in vivo. When pineal glands were kept at a low temperature for 5 h prior to culture, the phase of autonomous rhythm of enzyme activity was delayed. When chicken pineal glands were cultured during the daytime for 6 h, derivatives of adenosine 3′, 5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), cholera toxin, a high concentration of KCl and phosphodiesterase inhibitors increased N-acetyltransferase activity 3–7-fold, indicating an involvement of cyclic AMP in the regulation of N-acetyltransferase activity in chicken pineal gland as has been shown in rat pineal gland. When pineal glands were cultured at night in darkness, cholera toxin or a high KCl did not enhance the night-time increase of the enzyme activity. Derivatives of cyclic AMP or phosphodiesterase inhibitors enhanced the autonomous night-time increase of N-acetyltransferase activity in an additive or more than additive manner in cultured pineal glands. These observations suggest that adenylate cyclase of pinealocytes is inactive during daytime, but is activated at night in darkness, which is transduced to the synthesis of N-acetyltransferase molecules. Catecholamines suppressed the basal level and the nocturnal increase of N-acetyltransferase activity via α-adrenergic receptor. The nocturnal increase of enzyme activity was prevented by cycloheximide or actinomycin D. Cocaine, which stabilizes cell membrane potential or light exposure, blocked the nighttime increase of N-acetyltransferase activity in cultured chicken pineal glands.

124 citations


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