Summary
In Phodopus sungorus, as in other mammals, the pineal organ forms an important link in the transduction of photoperiodic information to the endocrine system. The sympathetic innervation, via the superior cervical ganglion, controls the metabolism of serotonin and melatonin in the pineal, which in turn is involved in the control of the gonads. In the present study, the post-natal development of this system was investigated. Specimens 1, 5, 10, and 15 days post partum (p.p.) and adults were treated with monoamine-oxidase-inhibitor and perfused under ether anesthesia via the aorta with a buffer containing glyoxylic acid, formaldehyde and Mg++. The brains were then dissected out and treated according to Falck-Hillarp for fluorescence microscopy and microspectrofluorometry.
Day 1: The nervi conarii had reached the pineal capsule, but only in a few cases was the pineal organ invaded and then only by a few fibers.
Day 5: A rich green-fluorescing net of fibers was present in the entire organ, stalk and lamina intercalaris. No 5-HT fluorescence was observable.
Day 10: Similar to the stage at 5 days a rich green-fluorescing nerve fiber net was observed throughout the pineal and a yellow fluorescence in the pineal perikarya.
Day 15: The general appearance resembles the adult. The nerve fibers are masked by the intense yellow fluorescence of the pineal perikarya. Fading of the latter, however, allows the catecholamine fluorescence to be seen. Golden hamsters at an age of 15 days p.p. show a similar appearance to Phodopus at an age of 15 days. Microspectrofluorometric determinations indicated the catecholamine to be noradrenaline, and confirmed a 5-HT/5-HTP origin of the yellow fluorescence appearing between day 5 and day 10. The amount of 5-HT/5-HTP was considerably less at day 10 than at day 15 or in adults. Sympathectomy by extirpation of the superior cervical ganglion abolished the catecholamine fluorescence completely in the pineal body, stalk and lamina intercalaris.
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Supported by grants from the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (to P. Meurling and Th. van Veen), and the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund
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van Veen, T., Brackmann, M. & Moghimzadeh, E. Post-natal development of the pineal organ in the hamsters Phodopus sungorus and Mesocricetus auratus . Cell Tissue Res. 189, 241–250 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209273