Ultrastructural evidence of a secretory process in the rat pineal gland.
Pericapillar spaces of the rat pineal gland belong to the most active sites of this organ. Neighborhood of sympathetic nerve endings, capillaries and pinealocyte processes facilitates possibly the synthesis and the secretion of methoxyindoles. Lipid droplets migrate through the pinealocyte cellular processes towards the terminal enlargement or poles, where they are secreted into the pericapillar space, and the possibility that indoleamines are included in the lipid droplets has been discussed.
D000818:Animals; D002196:Capillaries; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D007211:Indoles / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats
D007211:Indoles