Pinealocyte

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

Effect of photoperiod on pineal gland volume and pinealocyte size in the Chinese hamster, Cricetulus griseus.

Abstract: Male adult (200-day-old) Chinese hamsters (Cricetulus griseus) raised from weaning under either LD 16:8 or LD 8:16 were used. The pineal gland of the Chinese hamster consists of superficial (major) and deep (minor) components and a continuous, or interrupted, narrow parenchymal stalk interposed between them. The volume of the superficial pineal including the parenchymal stalk is greater under LD 16:8 than under LD 8:16. Under both photoperiods, pinealocytes in the superficial pineal have larger nuclei and more abundant cytoplasm than those in the deep pineal. Nuclei in the superficial pineal appear pale and usually have irregular profiles, whereas those in the deep pineal appear dark and have round profiles. In the superficial pineal, pinealocyte nuclei are larger, paler, and more irregular; and, in addition, nuclear density is lower under LD 16:8 than under LD 8:16. Similar, but less prominent, photoperiod-induced changes occur in the volume of the deep pineal, the size of pinealocytes, and pinealocyte nuclear morphology in the deep pineal. The results indicate that the development and differentiation of pinealocytes in both pineal portions may be advanced under long photoperiods and delayed under short photoperiods, although pinealocytes in the deep pineal may remain not fully differentiated even in adults. Since testicular weights and body weights are similar under both photoperiods, the photoperiod may exert marked influences on the development of the pineal gland without affecting reproductive activity and growth rates of animals.

Noradrenaline upregulates T-type calcium channels in rat pinealocytes.

Abstract: Our basic hypothesis is that mammalian pinealocytes have cycling electrical excitability and Ca2+ signalling that may contribute to the circadian rhythm of pineal melatonin secretion. This study asked whether the functional expression of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (CaV channels) in rat pinealocytes is changed by culturing them in noradrenaline (NA) as a surrogate for the night signal. Channel activity was assayed as ionic currents under patch clamp and as optical signals from a Ca2+-sensitive dye. Channel mRNAs were assayed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cultured without NA, pinealocytes showed only non-inactivating L-type dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ current. After 24 h in NA, additional low-voltage activated transient Ca2+ current developed whose pharmacology and kinetics corresponded to a T-type CaV3.1 channel. This change was initiated by β-adrenergic receptors, cyclic AMP and protein kinase A as revealed by pharmacological experiments. mRNA for CaV3.1 T-type channels became significantly elevated, but mRNA for another T-type channel and for the major L-type channel did not change. After only 8 h of NA treatment, the CaV3.1 mRNA was already elevated, but the transient Ca2+ current was not. Even a 16 h wait without NA following the 8 h NA treatment induced little additional transient current. However, these cells were somehow primed to make transient current as a second NA exposure for only 60 min sufficed to induce large T-type currents. The NA-induced T-type channel mediated an increased Ca2+ entry during short depolarizations and supported modest transient electrical responses to depolarizing stimuli. Such experiments reveal the potential for circadian regulation of excitability.

Inverse behaviour of synaptic ribbon and spherule numbers in the pineal gland of male guinea-pigs exposed to continuous illumination

Abstract: There is increasing evidence that pineal “synaptic” ribbons are a heterogeneous population of organelles. In addition to “synaptic” ribbons (SR) sensu stricto, which consist of an electron-dense rod surrounded by electronlucent vesicles, “synaptic” spherules (SS) exist, the electrondense core of which is round and much wider than that of the SR. In the guinea-pig SR and SS numbers exhibit an inverse day/night rhythmicity. To gain more insight into the functional significance of SR and SS, guinea-pigs were exposed to continuous illumination for approximately 4 months (LL) and the respective structures in the pineal gland were quantitated under the electron microscope and compared with control animals kept under a lighting regiment of 12 h light and 12 h dark. It was found that SR numbers increase following LL whereas SS numbers decrease. The proximal, intermediate and distal parts of the dumbbell-shaped organ respond differently. The increase in SR numbers is significant in the distal and intermediate regions only, whereas the decrease in SS numbers is significant in the proximal and the intermediate regions only. Within each pineal region analyses of parenchymal subareas measuring 65 μm by 65 μm exhibit an inverse correlation of SR and SS numbers indicating that there are parenchymal domains in which either SR or SS predominate. Morphometric analyses of a number of pinealocytic parameters reveal minor differences between different pineal regions and that exposure to LL does not strikingly affect the pinealocyte perikarya. By contrast, the numbers of pinealocyte processes increase significantly after LL in the distal and intermediate, but not the proximal region of the pineal gland. These observations suggest structural and functional differences between different parts of the guinea-pig pineal gland.

Induction of c-fos protein-like immunoreactivity in the rat and hamster pineal gland after the onset of darkness.

Abstract: Induction of c-fos protein (FOS) after the onset of darkness was studied immunocytochemically in the rat and hamster pineal gland. The animals were kept on a 12:12 h light-dark cycle. Before the dark period no FOS staining was seen in either rat or hamster pineal cells. Five hours after the onset of darkness 342±18 pinealocytes/0.2 mm2 (mean±SD) displayed FOS-like immunoreactivity in the hamster pineal gland; in the rat pineal gland only 5±2 pinealocytes/0.2 mm2 showed a faint staining. Two hours later the density of FOS positive cells was decreased to 60±11/0.2 mm2 in the hamster but increased to 519±103/0.2 mm2 in the rat pineal gland. Three hours before the beginning of the light period no FOS positive cells were detected in either animal. Both the rat and hamster pineal gland showed a transient and temporally defined expression of c-fos protein in the middle of the dark period. This may be related to a more active functional state of pinealocytes, which is reflected in a peak of melatonin synthesis during the darkness.