title: Day-night differences in the vesicle populations of nerve terminals in the rat and chick pineal gland.
abstract: Day-night differences in the ultrastructure of pineal neuronal elements were quantitated in the rat and the chick--two species that exhibit important differences in adrenergic control of melatonin synthesis. Area densities of small clear vesicles (40-60 nm) and small dense-cored vesicles (40-60 nm) in nerve terminals were significantly reduced during the night in the rat. In the chick, there were no day-night differences in the frequency of clear vesicles, but the number of small dense-cored vesicles tended to be greater at night. There was no effect of day-night sampling on area densities of large dense-cored vesicles (80-120 nm) in either species. These findings are consistent with biochemical evidence for day-night species differences in the adrenergic control of pineal function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Ill.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: LaPorte
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mosher
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Binkley
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McNulty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009474:Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010507:Periodicity; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains