Course of the increase in hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activity in the pineal gland of the chick embryo and young chick

Embryonic Ontogeny of 5-Hydroxyindoles and 5-Methoxyindoles Synthesis Pathways in the Goose Pineal Organ

The aim of this study was to characterize the embryonic ontogeny of 5-hydroxyindoles and 5-methoxyindoles synthesis pathways in the goose pineal organ. The study was performed on embryos aged 14–28 days, which have been incubated under a 12L:12D cycle. The pineal organs were collected for measurements of indole content by HPLC every 6 h on embryonic day (ED) 14, ED 16, ED 18 and ED 22 or every 2 h on ED 24, ED 26 and ED 28. The level of tryptophan showed no significant changes during development and no day-night variations. The content of 5-hydroxytryptophan increased between ED 14 and ED 26. It was significantly higher during scotophase than during photophase starting from ED 14. The serotonin content was low during the early stages of development (ED 14–ED 18) and prominently increased from ED 20. The serotonin levels also showed day-night differences; however, they were less conspicuous than those of 5-hydroxytryptophan. The changes in the level of 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid were similar to those of serotonin. 5-Hydroxytryptophol was measurable from ED 18. Levels of N-acetylserotonin, which were detectable for the first time on ED 16, prominently increased between ED 22 and ED 28 and showed significant day–night differences from ED 20. Melatonin was detectable from ED 18. Like N-acetylserotonin, its content increased rapidly between ED 22 and ED 28, and from ED 20 showed diurnal variations. 5-Methoxyindole acetic acid and 5-methoxytryptophol occurred at measurable levels from ED 18 and ED 26, respectively. The obtained results showed that embryonic development of indole metabolism in the goose pineal organ starts with the beginning of serotonin synthesis. The processes of serotonin acetylation and 5-hydroxyindoles methylation were turned on later. Diurnal rhythmicity develops very early in the embryonic pineal organ of the goose when the eggs are incubated under a 12 h light: 12 h dark schedule. Two processes are responsible for generation of the diurnal rhythms of 5-hydroxyindoles and 5-methoxyindoles: (i) hydroxylation of tryptophan and (ii) acetylation of serotonin.

Development of rhythmic melatonin synthesis in cultured pineal glands and pineal cells isolated from chick embryo

The chick pineal gland exhibits circadian rhythms in melatonin synthesis under in vivo and in vitro conditions. A daily rhythm of melatonin production was first detectable in pineal glands isolated from chick embryos at embryonic day 16 and incubated under a LD cycle. All pineal glands isolated from 17-day-old and older embryos were rhythmic while no gland isolated at embryonic day 14 and 15 exhibited a daily rhythm in melatonin synthesis. Melatonin production in static cultures of embryonic pineal cells was rhythmic over 48 h if the cells were kept under a LD cycle. When embryonic pineal cells were incubated in constant darkness the rhythm in melatonin production was damped within 48 h. These results suggest that chick pineal cells from embryonic day 16 onwards are photosensitive but that the endogenous component of the melatonin rhythm is not completely developed at that age. A soluble analogue of cAMP stimulated and norepinephrine inhibited melatonin synthesis in cultured embryonic pineal cells. These findings indicate that the stimulatory and inhibitory pathways controlling melatonin synthesis in the mature pineal gland are effective in pineal cells isolated from chick embryos at least 2 days before hatching.

Hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase gene expression in the pineal gland of chicken embryo: development of messenger RNA levels and regulation by serum

Hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), the enzyme which catalyzes the final step of melatonin biosynthesis, constitutes a marker of the functional differentiation of pineal cells. In addition, a day/night rhythm of HIOMT mRNA concentration, previously described in the chicken pineal gland [6], would suggest that HIOMT gene transcription is one output of the circadian system that controls pineal function. The study sought to monitor the developmental expression of HIOMT mRNA in the chick pineal gland and to investigate a possible role of instructive signals in this differentiation process. RT-PCR analysis indicated that HIOMT mRNA is expressed at embryonic day 8 (E8). At E12, HIOMT mRNA became detectable on northern blots and traces of HIOMT activity could be measured. HIOMT mRNA concentration increased 100-fold between E14 and day 10 post-hatch, then levelled off. A day/night rhythm of HIOMT mRNA concentration was readily observed in the pineal gland of 2-day-old chicks. Pineal glands isolated on minimum culture medium at E11 stopped developing HIOMT gene expression. However, the addition of serum to the culture medium restored HIOMT mRNA concentration to the levels observed in vivo. The data suggest that the functional differentiation of melatoninergic cells observed during the second week of embryonic life may be controlled [correction of controled] by serum factors.

Calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and recoverin immunoreactivities in developing chick pineal gland

Calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and recoverin, three intracellular calcium-binding proteins belonging to the troponin C/calmodulin superfamily, were immunohistochemically localized in chick pineal during development [from embryonic day 16 (E16) to postnatal day 14 (P14)]. At E18, only calretinin immunoreactivity could be detected in nuclei from follicular pinealocytes. With development, calretinin immunoreactivity expanded from nucleus to cytoplasm, and calretinin immuno-positive cell number increased. At P14 almost al pinealocytes were calretinin positive. Calbindin-D28k immunoreactivity was not detected before E20. During development, many follicular and parafollicular pinealocytes became strongly calbindin-D28k positive, reaching a peak both in intensity and in number at P7; thereafter their number decreased. In addition to pinealocytes, neuron-like cells appeared calbindin-D28k positive at E20 and calretinin positive at P7. Recoverin, a myristoylated protein isolated from vertebrate photoreceptor and which might participate in the inactivation of the phototransduction cascade, was transiently expressed in follicular and parafollicular pinealocytes from P1 to P14 with a maximal expression at P7. This transitory expression may coincide with a transitory light sensitivity period in chick pinealocytes, before complete maturity of the pineal gland.

Development of melatonin rhythm in the pineal gland and eyes of chick embryo

A melatonin rhythm was observed in the pineals of 18-day-old chick embryos incubated under a light-dark regime of 18: 6 h. A low pineal melatonin content was found during the light phase of the day. Concentrations started to increase 2 h after dark onset and reached maximum levels after 4 h of darkness. The amplitude of the pineal melatonin rhythm increased considerably after 2 days and night-time concentrations in 20-day-old embryos were more than 5 times higher than in 18-day-old ones. Significant day/night differences in melatonin production were found both in pineals and eyes. Exposure of eggs to 1 h of light during the dark period decreased the high melatonin concentrations in the eyes but not in the pineals of the 20-day-old chick embryo. The results suggest that in this precocial bird at least part of the circadian system may already operate during embryonic life.

Long-term effects of constant light or darkness on chicken pineal hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase expression: biochemical and cellular aspects

1. Chickens kept in constant light, as opposed to constant darkness, display a twofold increase in the activity of pineal hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), the last acting enzyme in the melatonin pathway. 2. Using an immunological approach, we presently show that this regulation of HIOMT activity reflects changes in the concentration of a single molecular form of the enzyme protein (a 38 kDa polypeptide). Immunohistofluorescence indicates that these concentration changes concurrently affect modified photoreceptors and pinealocyte-like cells in the chicken pineal organ. 3. Together, the present data support the hypothesis that environmental lighting might regulate the expression of the HIOMT gene.

Molecular and cellular aspects of hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase expression in the developing chick pineal gland

The pineal gland influences circadian activity and seasonal breeding through the production of an indolic hormone, melatonin. The terminal step of melatonin biosynthesis is catalyzed by hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT). Using an antibody directed against HIOMT, we examined the differentiation of the melatoninergic phenotype in the developing chick pineal gland. HIOMT first appeared 4 days before hatch and rose linearly until the 7th day posthatch. This was correlated with an increased immunoreactivity of the 38 kDa enzyme on Western blots and with an accelerated rate of HIOMT biosynthesis as demonstrated by [35S]methionine labeling. Immunocytochemistry revealed a growing number of HIOMT-positive cells between day 2 before hatch and day 15 posthatch. Until hatching HIOMT was expressed almost exclusively in modified photoreceptors. Parafollicular pinealocytes became HIOMT-positive mostly after hatching. Their different timings of functional differentiation emphasize the existence of two populations of melatonin-producing cells in the chick pineal gland.

Thymidine kinase activity of the chick pineal gland

Pineal thymidine kinase activity of 1-week-old chicks in situ varied significantly throughout the day. However, the circadian rhythm of thymidine incorporation seen with cultured chick pineal glands was not accompanied by variations in level of thymidine kinase activity in vitro. Thus the circadian rhythm in rate of cumulative incorporation of thymidine by cultured chick pineal glands is not determined by a rhythm in rate of the first reaction of the complex series of reactions by which thymidine is incorporated into DNA.

Structural and functional differentiation of the embryonic chick pineal organ in vivo and in vitro. A scanning electron-microscopic and radioimmunoassay study

The development of sensory structures in the pineal organ of the chick was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy from embryonic day 10 through day 12 post-hatching. At embryonic day 10, the wall of the tubules within the pineal primordium is composed of cells with unspecialized luminal surface. Differentiation of sensory structures starts at embryonic day 12 when pinealocytes and supporting cells can be distinguished. Pinealocytes are recognized by virtue of an inner segment only rarely endowed with a cilium, whereas supporting cells exhibit numerous short microvilli. Further differentiation of the sensory apparatus is achieved by development of an oval-shaped, biconcave swelling at the tip of the cilium, 1 x 2 microns in size, and a collar of long microvilli at the base of the inner segment. Membrane specializations of sensory cilia, however, were not detected. Since during embryonic life new tubules and follicles are continuously formed, all stages of differentiation of sensory structures are found in the chick pineal organ during the second half of the incubation period and the first two weeks after hatching. In 200-microns-thick Vibratome sections of chick-embryo pineal organs cultured in medium BM 86 Wissler for periods up to 13 days the cytodifferentiation parallels the development in vivo. Using an organ-culture system the 24-h release of melatonin into the culture medium was measured by means of radioimmunoassay after solid-phase extraction. At embryonic day 10, the 24-h secretion of melatonin was at the lower range of detection of the RIA (5 pg). The rapid increase in 24-h secretion in melatonin until hatching (approximately 50 micrograms) is approximated by an exponential curve.

Ontogeny of N-acetyltransferase activity rhythm in pineal gland of chick embryo

1. N-acetyltransferase was present in pineal glands of 14-day-old chick embryos though no rhythm either in LL, DD or LD 12:12 was observed in this age. 2. Daily rhythm in pineal NAT activity was found in 18-day-old embryos incubated under LD 12:12 and LD 16:8 but no NAT rhythm was detected in DD or LL. 3. NAT rhythm persists for 2 days in constant darkness and it may be circadian in nature. 4. Presence of melatonin (85 +/- 8 pg/mg tissue) was detected in pineals of 18-day-old chick embryos.

Cytodifferentiation of the chick pineal gland, with special reference to the photosensory and secretory elements

Cytodifferentiation of the chick pineal gland throughout the embryonic development was investigated with light and electron microscopy. The chick pineal anlage appears first as a small evagination in the diencephalic roof at 60 h of incubation (27-30 somites). Until day 5 of incubation, pineal anlage cells are undifferentiated and appear similar to ventricular ependymal cells. Subsequently, pinealocytes and supporting cells are first distinguishable at 7-8 days, and parafollicular cells are distinguishable at 12 days of incubation. Pigment-containing cells after 6 days and nerve cells after 17 days of incubation gradually increase, especially in the posterior wall of the pineal recess. During embryonic development, the chick pineal gland has both photosensory and secretory elements: viz. the former, mitochondria-laden apical protrusions, synaptic ribbons, lamellar whorl-like cilia of the pinealocytes, and adjacent appearance of the pigment-containing cells and the nerve cells; and the latter, dense-cored vesicles of the pinealocytes and dense bodies of the supporting cells. Moreover, nuclear invaginations having a large lipid droplet nearby and some aggregations of glycogen are found in the pinealocytes and are transitory changes in structure restricted to certain days of incubation.

Regressive post-hatching development of acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons in the pineal organs of Coturnix coturnix japonica and Gallus gallus

Distribution and number of acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons were studied in the Japanese quail and the domestic fowl during the post-hatching period by means of the acetylcholinesterase method. For comparison, the development of the catecholamine-containing (sympathetic) pinealopetal fibers of the domestic fowl was demonstrated with the use of the glyoxylic acid method. The number of acetylcholinesterase-positive ganglion cells in the pineal organs of both avian species decreased rapidly after hatching, with a concentration of these elements in the basal portion (stalk) of the pineal organ. In 3-day-old chickens, perivascular catecholamine-containing nerve fibers penetrate the antero-lateral walls of the pineal organ and are found exclusively in the interfollicular and perivascular tissues. In 13-day-old and adult fowl, these fibers increase in number and terminate not only in the interfollicular space but also in the neuroepithelial parenchyma of the pineal body. The ontogenetic regression of the sensory structures paralleled by an expanding sympathetic innervation in the pineal organ of a galliform species resembles somewhat the process of phylogenetic transformation leading from pineal sense organs to pineal glands.

Regulation of the cycle in chick pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in vitro by light

The diurnal cycle in vivo in the level of serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity found in the pineal gland of chicks kept under diurnal lighting was reproduced in vitro with glands incubated in organ culture under the same diurnal lighting conditions. We have examined the effects of varying the lighting conditions of culture upon development of NAT activity in vitro with pineal glands from birds which were killed at different times during the photoperiod in vivo. The ability of chick pineal glands to develop increased NAT activity in culture during the dark period of a diurnal cycle of illumination was determined primarily by the proportion of the photoperiod in vivo elapsed at the time of sacrifice of the birds. The time of development of maximal NAT activity in cultured chick pineal glands could be advanced or delayed by corresponding changes in time of start of the dark period. However, the 'settings' of the pineal 'biological clock' remained unchanged. Glands from birds sacrificed in the final 30 min of the photoperiod in vivo developed increased NAT activity without lag when cultured in the light. Similarly, pineal glands cultured under continuous illumination developed an increased photostable NAT activity beginning at the time of the "subjective" end of the photoperiod in vitro. Ability to develop additional NAT activity in the dark was low rapidly at the "subjective" time in vitro of start of the next photoperoid. The maximal NAT activity developed in the dark consisted of both photolabile and photostable components.

Histamine-n-methyltransferase activity of the nervous system of the chick during development

The developmental course of histamine-N-methyltransferase activity was determined in the chick pineal gland, thalamus, cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum and sciatic nerve from the 13-day embryo to 1-week post-hatching. In each tissue, low levels of enzyme activities were detectable in the 13-day embryo. Thereafter, to the stage of hatching activity rose rapidly in the pineals, thalamus and peripheral nerve. Enzyme activity in the pineals decreased after hatching and remined at a relatively low pre-hatch level in the 7-day chick. In the sciatic nerve and thalamus activity also dropped slightly after hatching. The increase of enzyme activity in the cerebellum and cerebellum hemispheres was very gradual after the 13th day of embryonic stage and maximum activities were obtained only 2 days after hatching. Highest specific activities of the enzyme were detected in the sciatic nerve, pineals and thalamus at each developmental stage. The Km values for histamine and S-adenosyl-l-methionine and the behavior towards certain drugs of the enzyme in the pineals and sciatic nerve did not change significantly during development.