Purpose: To report a new, direct visual approach for rat pinealectomy.
Methods: Eighty adult female rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus EPM-1 strain) were weighted and anesthetized intraperitoneally with 15 mg/kg xylazine and 30 mg/kg ketamine. The animal was fastened to a dissection table, an incision was made in the skin and the subcutaneous tissue, bringing the lambda into view. The skullcap was opened with a dental drill, bringing the cerebral hemispheres and the superior sagittal sinus into view. The pineal gland, located under the venous sinus, was removed in a single piece using tweezers. Next, the bone fragment was returned to its place and the surgical layers were sutured.
Results: This new technique is easy to be done, avoids bleedings and removes only the pineal gland without damage to the remaining encephalon. In addition it makes possible the achievement of a sham surgery, allowing the pineal gland to remain intact.
Conclusion: The proposed technique intends to facilitate studies aiming to better understanding the complexity and importance of the pineal gland on reproductive and other body systems.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0102-86502009000400013 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Growth Hormone Increase Induced by Oral Administration of Melatonin in a Young Woman With Sleep Disturbances.
JCEM Case Rep
February 2025
Clinica Medica 3, Department of Medicine-DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Padova 35128, Italy.
Growth hormone (GH) secretion by the pituitary is regulated by stimulatory and inhibitory pathways such as growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin, respectively, being also modulated by different neurotransmitters acting at the hypothalamic/pituitary level. The pineal gland hormone melatonin regulates GH secretion in many mammals, including humans, although its role in modulating GH secretion has been debated. We describe the case of a young woman chronically taking melatonin for sleep disturbances, referring to her general practitioner for flushing that appeared just after starting melatonin intake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelatonin influence on miRNA expression in sperm, hypothalamus, pre-frontal cortex and cerebellum of Wistar rats.
PLoS One
January 2025
Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Morphology and Genetics-Paulista Medicine School, Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Melatonin is a pineal hormone synthesized exclusively at night, in several organisms. Its action on sperm is of particular interest, since they transfer genetic and epigenetic information to the offspring, including microRNAs, configuring a mechanism of paternal epigenetic inheritance. MicroRNAs are known to participate in a wide variety of mechanisms in basically all cells and tissues, including the brain and the sperm cells, which are known, respectively, to present 70% of all identified microRNAs and to transfer these molecules to the embryo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelatonin, modulation of hypothalamic activity, and reproduction.
Vitam Horm
January 2025
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address:
Light is the most reliable environmental cue allowing animals to breed successfully when conditions are optimal. In seasonal breeders, photoperiod (length of daylight) information is sensed by the eyes and transmitted to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the master clock region located in the hypothalamus. This structure has a 24-h firing rhythm involving a cycle of clock protein synthesis and degradation, and provides the timing to synchronize the synthesis and release of melatonin, the chemical signal that transduces the photoperiod information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffects of light on biological functions and human sleep.
Handb Clin Neurol
January 2025
Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Research Cluster Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
The nonvisual effects of light in humans are mainly conveyed by a subset of retinal ganglion cells that contain the pigment melanopsin which renders them intrinsically photosensitive (= intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, ipRGCs). They have direct connections to the main circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus and modulate a variety of physiological processes, pineal melatonin secretion, autonomic functions, cognitive processes such as attention, and behavior, including sleep and wakefulness. This is because efferent projections from the SCN reach other hypothalamic nuclei, the pineal gland, thalamus, basal forebrain, and the brainstem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMT1/cAMP/PKA Pathway in Melatonin-Regulated Sperm Capacitation.
Reprod Sci
January 2025
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
Melatonin is mainly synthesized and secreted by pineal gland, and plays multiple functions, including its regulating effects on reproductive processes. Sperm capacitation is necessary for fertilization, but the effect of melatonin on mouse sperm capacitation remains to be elucidated. We thus investigated the roles of melatonin on capacitation by culturing the sperms from mouse cauda epididymis in the medium with different doses of melatonin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!