A Morphometric Study of the Effects of Melatonin on the Rat Adrenal Zona Glomerulosa

Rebuffat, Piera; Mazzocchi, Giuseppina; Stachowiak, Andrzej; Belloni, A. S.; Coi, Alberta; Gg, Nussdorfer

doi:10.1055/s-0029-1210722

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The conversion of cholesterol to aldosterone occurs through a series of enzyme-mediated steps in the mitochondria and sER and stored in the lipid droplets (Nussdorfer et al, 1978). The present results revealed hypertrophy in zona glomerulosa with a lamellar pattern of mitochondrial cristae after melatonin treatment, which was in accordance with Rebuffat et al (1988) who recorded a significant rise in the plasma concentration of aldosterone after melatonin administration in rats. These findings indicate that melatonin exerts a strong direct stimulatory action on the growth and steroidogenic capacity of zona glomerulosa.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

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Melatonin Elicits Stimulatory Action on the Adrenal Gland of Soay Ram: Morphometrical, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study

2017

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Endogenous melatonin is a hormone secreted by pineal gland; it has several roles in metabolism, reproduction, and remarkable antioxidant properties. Studies on the melatonin effect on the adrenal glands which are important endocrine organs, controlling essential physiological functions, are still deficient. In this study, we attempted to investigate the effect of exogenous melatonin treatment on the adrenal cortex and medulla using several approaches. Adrenal glands of 15 Soay ram were examined to detect the effect of melatonin treatment. Our results revealed that the cells of adrenal cortex of the treated animals were separated by wide and numerous blood sinusoids and showed signs of increase steroidogenic activity, which are evidenced by functional hypertrophy with increase profiles of mitochondria, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and lipid droplets. The most striking ultrastructural features in the medulla of the treated group were the engorgement of chromaffin cells with enlarged secretory granules enclosed within a significantly increased diameter of these cells. The cytoplasm of these cells showed numerous mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER), Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and glycogen granules. Exocytosis of secretory granules to the lumen of blood vessels was evident in the treated group. Piecemeal degranulation mode of secretion was recorded after melatonin treatment. Chromaffin cells in the control group expressed moderate immunoreactivity to Synaptophysin and tyrosine hydroxylase, compared with intensified expression after melatonin treatment. The ganglion cells of the melatonin-treated group showed a significant increase in diameter with numerous rER. The most interesting feature in this study is the presence of small granule chromaffin cells (SGC) and telocytes (TCs) for the first time in the adrenal glands of sheep. Moreover, these SGC cells, Schwann cells, fibroblasts, and progenitor stem cells showed a stimulatory response. The TCs were small branched cells scattered in the adrenal glands around cortical cells, chromaffin cells, nerve fibers, and blood vessels. These cells increased significantly in number, length of their telopodes, and secretory activity after melatonin treatment. In addition, multiple profiles of unmyelinated nerve fibers were demonstrated in all treated specimens. These results indicated that melatonin treatment caused a stimulatory action on all cellular and neuronal elements of the adrenal gland. This study may act as a new direction for treatment of adrenal insufficiency.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The ultrastructure of only a few species has been studied, and much work has been concentrated on the adrenal glands of the mouse (Kobayashi & Coupland, 1977), the laboratory rat (Rebuffat et al, 1988), and guinea pig (Kobayashi et al, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melatonin Elicits Stimulatory Action on the Adrenal Gland of Soay Ram: Morphometrical, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study

2017

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Exogenous Melatonin Induces Simultaneous Stimulation of Pineal and Adrenocortical Function in Relation to Karyomorphology, Cell proliferation and Corticosterone Content in Male Mice (Mus musculus)

et al. 2011

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Pineal control of aging: effect of melatonin and pineal grafting on aging mice.

Pierpaoli¹,

Regelson²

1994

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

269

189

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The pineal hormone melatonin is secreted in all mammals during the dark phase of the circadian cycle (1), but, even more importantly, there are indications that it is a key regulator of aging and senescence (2, 3). The role of melatonin in controlling sexual maturity, sexual cycling, cancer, stress, and the immune response makes it likely that the pineal may be a factor in the syndrome of aging (4)(5)(6). With this in mind, we have administered exogenous melatonin in the drinking water of mice during a fixed circadian dark cycle-i.e., when melatonin is normally produced-in order to ascertain its influence on patterns of survival. In addition, as the pineal gland is the prime source of melatonin, we transplanted the pineal gland from young to syngeneic histocompatible older recipients. We have utilized the thymus as the graft recipient site inasmuch as the thymus and the pineal gland share a common adrenergic innervation via the superior cervical ganglion (7,8). This common innervation is of importance as melatonin synthesis is inhibited by pharmacologic sympathetic blockade, which also modulates the immune response (9). Moreover, the pineal morphologically contains lymphocytes and it has been likened in its embryologic developmental origin to the thymus (10).In our studies, exogenous nocturnal circadian administration of melatonin or engraftment of young homologous (3-4 months) pineals to old (18-22 months) syngeneic mice adjacent to the thymus, leaving the recipient's pineal in situ, resulted in a significant enhancement of survival independent of significant weight loss. These results suggest that the pineal may act as an endogenous clock governing aging.The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. MATERIALS AND METHODSMelatonin Administration. Mice were fed ad libitum using NAFAG pellets (Gossau, Switzerland) and housed 4-10 to a cage in air-conditioned quarters at 22°C. Light exposure was controlled by a fixed timer that governs a standard fluorescent fixture (Philips TLD 36W/84). Melatonin, solubilized in ethanol, was given in the drinking water during a fixed darkness cycle from 6 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. (10 pg/ml of tap water, 0.01% ethanol). The control (only ethanol) and melatonin-containing water bottles were removed from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. No drinking water was given during that period. The mice were individually weighed at intervals to determine whether the effects seen were related to dietary intake.Pineal Grafting. In young-to-old, pineal-to-thymus grafting, the "young" pineals were obtained from 3-to 4-monthold, postpubertal mice. Syngeneic recipients were groups of "aging" mice. The recipient mice were uniform as to sex and age, housed 3-7 per cage. They were prepared for surgery and studied in groups, as indicated in Tables 1 and 2. Weight changes of control and pineal-transplanted animals were recorded monthly. Donor mice were killed by ...

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A Morphometric Study of the Effects of Melatonin on the Rat Adrenal Zona Glomerulosa

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Melatonin Elicits Stimulatory Action on the Adrenal Gland of Soay Ram: Morphometrical, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study

Melatonin Elicits Stimulatory Action on the Adrenal Gland of Soay Ram: Morphometrical, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study

Exogenous Melatonin Induces Simultaneous Stimulation of Pineal and Adrenocortical Function in Relation to Karyomorphology, Cell proliferation and Corticosterone Content in Male Mice (Mus musculus)

Pineal control of aging: effect of melatonin and pineal grafting on aging mice.

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