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PMID: 9334383 Published · ppublish English Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Developmental expression pattern of phototransduction components in mammalian pineal implies a light-sensing function.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience ·Vol. 17 ·No. 21 ·1997-11-01 ·Pages 8074-82

Blackshaw S, Snyder SH

Abstract

Whereas the pineal organs of lower vertebrates have been shown to be photosensitive, photic regulation of pineal function in adult mammals is thought be mediated entirely by retinal photoreceptors. Extraretinal regulation of pineal function has been reported in neonatal rodents, although both the site and molecular basis of extraretinal photoreception have remained obscure. In this study we examine the developmental expression pattern of all of the principal components of retinal phototransduction in rat pineal via cRNA in situ hybridization. All of the components needed to reconstitute a functional phototransduction pathway are expressed in the majority of neonatal pinealocytes, although the expression levels of many of these genes decline dramatically during development. These findings strongly support the theory that the neonatal rat pineal itself is photosensitive. In addition, we observe in neonatal pinealocytes the expression of both rod-specific and cone-specific phototransduction components, implying the existence of functionally different subtypes of pinealocytes that express varying combinations of phototransduction enzymes.

MeSH Terms
Animals Animals, Newborn Arrestin/biosynthesis,genetics Calcium-Binding Proteins/biosynthesis,genetics Eye Proteins/biosynthesis,genetics G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 1 Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/radiation effects Hippocalcin In Situ Hybridization Ion Channel Gating Light Lipoproteins Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Models, Biological Nerve Tissue Proteins/biosynthesis,genetics Organ Specificity Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases/biosynthesis,genetics Pineal Gland/cytology,growth & development,metabolism,radiation effects Protein Kinases/biosynthesis,genetics RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis,genetics Rats Rats, Sprague-Dawley Recoverin Retinol-Binding Proteins/biosynthesis,genetics Rhodopsin/biosynthesis,genetics Signal Transduction/physiology,radiation effects Transducin/biosynthesis,genetics
Chemicals
Arrestin Calcium-Binding Proteins Eye Proteins Lipoproteins Nerve Tissue Proteins RNA, Messenger Rcvrn protein, mouse Rcvrn protein, rat Retinol-Binding Proteins interstitial retinol-binding protein Recoverin Hippocalcin Rhodopsin Protein Kinases G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 1 Grk1 protein, mouse Grk1 protein, rat Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases Transducin
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Blackshaw S
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Snyder S H
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Article Info
Journal
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Abbr.
J Neurosci
ISSN
0270-6474
Published
1997-11-01
Pages
8074-82
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
8102140
PMCID
PMC6573733
Subset
IM
Grants
NIDA NIH HHS · DA-00074 · United States
NIDA NIH HHS · DA-00266 · United States
External Links
PubMed source PMC Full Text View journal details
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