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Pineal Gland Abstracts: 1991

Note: the following is a limited selection of abstracts available at PubMed, Science Direct, and Toxnet.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1725704&dopt=Abstract

Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper 1991 Sep;67(9):837-44

Further observations on pineal brain sand formation and evolution in man.


Galliani I, Mongiorgi R.

Istituto di Anatomia Normale, Universita di Bologna, Italy.

Acervuli obtained from fragments of the human pineal glands of subjects of both sexes and age ranging from 23 to 87 years were analyzed by light microscopy after histochemical stains and by EDS-microanalysis. It was found that the sub-units and acervuli are positive to P.A.S., Alcian Blue pH 2.5, Gomori-Bargmann procedures for the presence of proteins, glycoproteins, proteoglycans and of the neurosecretory material in different layers of the sub-units and acervuli. We suppose that the increase of Mg++ in the sub-unit from the core to the periphery is responsible for the inhibition of following hydroxyapatite deposition and for growth. We suggest that the presence of glycoproteins and proteoglycans can represent the aggregation factor for bindings between disulphide bonds and calcium.

PMID: 1725704 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Note from FAN:
"Brain Sand", a term one would have expected from Hollywood producers, is calcium hydroxyapatite. - EC.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1648693&dopt=Abstract

Neurosci Lett 1991 Apr 1;124(2):242-5

Melatonin receptor mRNA expression in Xenopus oocytes: inhibition of G-protein-activated response.


Fraser SP, Barrett P, Djamgoz MB, Morgan PJ.

Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, U.K.

Melatonin is the major endocrine product of the pineal gland in the mammalian brain and plays a variety of roles in photoperiodic functions. In order to investigate melatonin receptors, poly(A)+ RNA was extracted from pars tuberalis of the ovine pituitary and injected into oocytes of Xenopus laevis. After 3-5 days of incubation, functional melatonin receptors were expressed. Receptors were revealed by their inhibitory effect upon oscillatory currents resulting from AlF4-induced activation of G-proteins in the oocyte membrane under voltage clamp conditions. The effect of melatonin was dose-dependent, non-desensitizing and was not observed in uninjected oocytes.

PMID: 1648693 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1767479&dopt=Abstract

Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 1991 Nov;21(6):1343-59

Avian reproductive endocrinology.


Paster MB.

Avalon Animal Hospital and Bird Clinic, Inc., Carson, California.

Hypothalamic-releasing factors regulate the secretion of anterior pituitary hormones. The anterior pituitary gland secretes the same six hormones as found in mammals: FSH, LH, prolactin, GH (somatotropic hormone), ACTH, and TSH, plus the melanotropic hormone. The endocrine hormones of the avian posterior pituitary gland concerned with reproduction are mesotocin and AVT. The pineal gland, through the secretion of the hormone melatonin, modulates the periodic autonomic functions of the central nervous system. The ovary produces estrogens, progestogens, and androgenic compounds. The testes produce testosterones and progesterone. The thyroid glands produce two hormones, T4 and T3. The avian adrenal glands produce corticosterone and aldosterone. The bursa of Fabricius is considered an endocrine organ since it is involved in the production of humoral factors. The male reproductive system undergoes hormonal changes associated with puberty, the breeding season, and molt. Some avian species undergo a type of disintegration and seasonal reconstruction of the testis and epididymis. The relationship of the ovarian follicular hormones and the plasma hormones varies depending on the stage of the reproductive cycle and the seasonal photostimulation. Female birds may conceive in the absence of a mate as a result of the fertile period phenomena. The blood chemistry of laying birds is different from that seen in nonlaying hens. Domestication has had a definite influence on the hormone cycles of some avian species. This may lead to certain reproductive problems.

Publication Types:
PMID: 1767479 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2034358&dopt=Abstract

Neurosurgery 1991 Apr;28(4):597-602; discussion 602-3

Gonadotropin-secreting pineal teratoma causing precocious puberty.


Cohen AR, Wilson JA, Sadeghi-Nejad A.

Department of Neurosurgery, New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.

A case of precocious puberty in a 7-year-old boy with a tumor of the pineal region is reported. Human chorionic gonadotropin levels were elevated in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Endocrinological evaluation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis demonstrated a normal prepubertal response. The tumor was resected and proved to be an immature teratoma. Human chorionic gonadotropin levels were markedly elevated in the tumor cyst fluid. Sexual precocity regressed and human chorionic gonadotropin levels in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid fell to normal after surgery, suggesting that the precocious puberty was secondary to ectopic human chorionic gonadotropin production by the pineal teratoma.

PMID: 2034358 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

From TOXNET: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~AAA4da4Cl:20

Govt Reports Announcements & Index (GRA&I), Issue 02, 1991

Experiment K-6-19. Pineal Physiology in Microgravity: Relation to Rat Gonadal Function.

Holley D, Soliman MRI, Kaddis F, Markley C, Krasnov I

San Jose State Univ., CA.

Abstract: TD3: One of the most interesting concomitants to spaceflight and exposure to microgravity has been the disturbing alteration in calcium metabolism and resulting skeletal effects. It was recognized as early as 1685 (cited in Kitay and Altschule, 1954) that the pineal of humans calcified with age. However, little can be found in the literature relating calcification and pineal function. Given the link between exposure to microgravity and perturbation of calcium metabolism and the fact that the pineal is apparently one of the only soft tissues to calcify, researchers examined pineal calcium content following the spaceflight. Researchers concluded that the spaceflight resulted in a stress response as indicated by adrenal hypertrophy, that gonadal function was compromised, and that the pineal may be linked as part of the mechanism of the responses noted. In NASA, Ames Research Center, the US Experiments Flown on the Soviet Biosatellite Cosmos 1887 p 371-385.