Pinealocyte

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

Postnatal development of the dog pineal gland: electron microscopy.

Abstract: The ultrastructure of the dog pineal gland from the first postnatal day to the seventh month is described. In the first postnatal stages, pineal parenchyma only shows immature proliferative cells with abundant cytoplasmic glycogen. Nerve fibers are seen in the pineal connective tissue spaces. The differentiation of the dog pineal cell types begins in the first postnatal week. Both pinealocytes and pigmented cells are first seen on the fourth postnatal day. The pineal astrocytes are observed on the tenth day. Immature cells are still found in the pineal gland of 1 mo-old dogs. The differentiation of the dog pineal cell types is completed by the second postnatal month.

S-antigen in non ocular tissues.

Abstract: S-antigen has been considered a specific protein of photoreactive cells by immunohistochemical criteria. It was observed in the retina and pineal gland of all examined vertebrates as well as in photoreceptors of invertebrates, but not currently in other organs. However, contrary to pineal cells of poikilotherms and birds which are true or modified photoreceptors, mammalian pinealocytes are not photosensitive. Recent experiments demonstrated that S-antigen-like proteins are present in low amount in many other cells in the body. These proteins are characterized by the same migration pattern (the same molecular weight) as retinal S-antigen in SDS-electrophoresis and by their immuno-reactivity with a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to S-antigen. These cells are not photosensitive, but are controlled by β adrenergic, G-protein mediated adenylate cyclase system, a transduction system that shares many structural and functional homologies with visual transduction. S-antigen (arrestin) plays a regula...

Hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase mRNA expression in a subpopulation of photoreceptors in the chicken retina.

Abstract: Hydroxyindole O-methyltransferase (HIOMT, EC 2.1.1.4) catalyzes the final step in the synthesis of melatonin in the pineal gland and retina. HIOMT mRNA was localized by in situ hybridization in the chicken retina to some, but clearly not all, photoreceptors, while in the pineal gland, most pinealocytes displayed a positive hybridization signal. The in situ hybridization localization was confirmed by immunocytochemistry, using an antibody directed against a synthetic chicken HIOMT peptide. Western blot analysis demonstrated an immunoreactive protein of about 40 kilodaltons in the pineal, but the HIOMT protein was below detectable levels in the retina. However, the HIOMT-peptide antibody did identify a modestly immunoreactive subpopulation of retinal photoreceptors. These observations suggest that, in the chicken, melatonin biosynthetic activity is located mainly in a subpopulation of retinal photoreceptors and in most pinealocytes.

The Role of Repressor Proteins in the Adrenergic Induction of Type II Iodothyronine Deiodinase in Rat Pinealocytes

Abstract: In this study, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of the adrenergic induction of type II iodothyronine deiodinase (Dio2) in rat pinealocytes. Treatment of pinealocytes with norepinephrine (NE) caused an increase in the mRNA level of Dio2 that peaked around 2 h and declined over the next 5 h. Both β- and α1-adrenergic receptors contributed to the NE induction of Dio2 expression through a cAMP/protein kinase A mechanism. In pinealocytes that had been stimulated by NE, inhibition of transcription by actinomycin had no discernible effect on Dio2 expression. In contrast, inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide enhanced the NE induction of Dio2 expression, suggesting the involvement of a repressor protein. Transient transfection of pinealocytes with adenovirus expressing small interfering RNA against Fos-related antigen 2 (Fra2) enhanced the NE induction of Dio2 expression, whereas the effect of overexpression of the full-length transcript of Fra2 was inhibitory. Time-course study indicated...

Nor epinephrine induces Ca2+ release from intracellular stores in rat pinealocytes

Abstract: In rat pinealocytes, an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) due to Ca2+ influx in response to norepinephrine (NE) is a well recognized event involved in regulating several metabolic functions. Since NE also stimulates the metabolism of phosphatidyl inositols in rat pineal gland, it is conceivable that Ca2+ release from intracellular stores also contributes to the NE-induced increase in [Ca2+]i. In this communication, we report that in rat pinealocytes loaded with fura-2, a Ca2+ indicator, NE induced a transient increase in [Ca2+]i that preceded the known Ca2+ influx. This novel [Ca2+]i response to NE was detected in pinealocytes bathed with Ca2+-free saline and prevented by TMB-8, a blocker of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, supporting the notion that the transient NE-induced Ca2+ response was due to Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. In addition, after an extended exposure to NE a new addition of this neurotransmitter did not elicit the phasic Ca2+ response, and application of increasing amounts of NE induced a Ca2+ response that was progressively smaller, suggesting desensitization. Thus, NE is proposed to increase [Ca2+]i in rat pinealocytes by two mechanisms: (1) phasic release from intracellular stores and (2) tonic influx through a mechanism activated by larger applications of NE than required to evoke the phasic release.