Expression of brain nitric oxide synthase in the developing rat pineal gland coincides with the appearance of the adrenergic cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate response.
In the developing rat pineal gland, norepinephrine (NE)-stimulated cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) formation appears 2 weeks later than that of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) formation. Since NE-stimulated cGMP formation requires formation of nitric oxide (NO) in the adult rat pineal, we investigated the developmental appearance of the NO-forming enzyme brain NO-synthase (NOS) to find out whether the delayed cGMP response results from the late appearance of NOS. In this study, we investigated pineal glands of rats aged 8-21 days and 8 weeks. Western blot analysis revealed that NOS-immunoreactivity (NOS-IR) was barely detectable until day 12. On day 15 NOS-IR exhibited the same intensity as in adult rats. Expression of NOS at this postnatal stage appears to be responsible for the developmental appearance of the adrenergic cGMP response.
Layes
E
E
Department of Anatomy, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.
Schollmayer
A
A
Spessert
R
R
Vollrath
L
L
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015153:Blotting, Western; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D009638:Norepinephrine