Calcified inclusions in the superficial pineal gland of the mongolian gerbil&lt;i&gt;, Meriones unguiculatu&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;s&lt;/i&gt;

Japha, Joan L.; Eder, Thomas; Goldsmith, E. D.

doi:10.1159/000144585

Cited by 40 publications

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“…The incidence of this feature was shown clearly to increase from 70–111 weeks of age in both sexes. Superficial deposition was confirmed to be a histological characteristic of pineal mineralization in our study as described in the previous reports of laboratory animals 7 , 8 , 11 , whereas this positional characteristic has not been observed for human brain sand. Moreover, as another histological characteristic of mineralization, large areas of mineralization in aging rats tended to show laminations according to previous reports 8 .…”

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confidence: 90%

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Age-related Histological Findings in the Pineal Gland of Crl:CD(SD) Rats

et al. 2012

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To provide background data as the pathologic basis, the pineal glands of 190 male and 193 female Crl:CD(SD) rats at ages of 0–7, 51–58, 70–85 and 111 weeks were examined histologically in this study. Mineralization and fibrosis were common findings in the aged rats, whereas they were rarely found in the young ones; mineralization was present in 7, 44, 67 and 79% of males and in 0, 32, 67 and 79% in females, and fibrosis was present in 0, 29, 48 and 44% of males and 0, 18, 40 and 35% of females at ages of 0–7, 51–58, 70–85 and 111 weeks, respectively. Striated muscle fiber appeared regularly in the fibrosis region from 51–58 weeks of age when fibrosis increased, while the origin of this fiber remained unclear. Vacuolation of pineal cells also increased with age in both sexes, though the total incidence was low. There was a low incidence of lymphocytic infiltration in both sexes, but this was not related to age.

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confidence: 90%

“…The present study showed an age-related increase in mineralization in the rat pineal glands, although mineralization was previously reported mainly in aged rats and young to aged gerbil 7 , 8 , 11 . The incidence of this feature was shown clearly to increase from 70–111 weeks of age in both sexes.…”

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confidence: 61%

Age-related Histological Findings in the Pineal Gland of Crl:CD(SD) Rats

et al. 2012

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“…The gerbil pineal is unique among laboratory animals because it regularly contains calcified inclusions (concretions, acervuli) in adult animals (e.g., Japha et al 1974Japha et al , 1976. To identify precisely the p38-positive cell types, serial semithin sections have been sequentially immunostained for synaptophysin and for markers of typical cellular constituents of the pineal gland, i.e., pinealocytes and glial interstitial cells.…”

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confidence: 99%

Immunohistochemical localization of synaptophysin (p38) in the pineal gland of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

1990

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Synaptophysin (protein p38), a major integral membrane glycoprotein of small presynaptic vesicles, was localized immunohistochemically in semithin sections of the superficial pineal gland of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). Synaptophysin immunoreactivity could be detected in all pinealocytes, which were visualized with antibodies directed against neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in adjacent sections. No p38 immunoreactivity was discernible in the interstitial glial cells, which showed a heterogeneous pattern of immunostaining for the intermediate filament proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin. Pinealocytes exhibited considerable intercellular differences in the densities of immunostaining. The various degrees of synaptophysin immunoreactivities in pinealocytes were not correlated with the densities of NSE immunostaining. Nerve terminals and varicosities displayed stronger immunoreactivities than pinealocytes. They were particularly numerous in the perivascular spaces. It is not clear whether this distribution indicates an innervation of pineal capillaries in addition to the functionally important innervation of pinealocytes. Several highly p38-positive dots of variable size were a conspicuous feature throughout the gland. By the consecutive semithin-thin section technique, they could be identified as processes of pinealocytes, filled with accumulations of small clear vesicles. Obviously, these vesicles represent the major site of synaptophysin immunoreactivity in pinealocytes. In the gerbil, similar vesicles have been ascribed a role in the secretory activity of the gland, and/or in the transport of calcium. The intercellular differences in the degrees of p38 immunostaining may, therefore, reflect different states of a specific cellular activity. The presence of synaptophysin in pinealocytes of the normal pineal, including the deep portions of the gland, emphasizes the paraneuronal character of these cells.

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“…The presence of calcium inside the pinealocytes was thought to be related to the production of concrements (LUKASZYK and REITER, 1975;JAPHA et al, 1976;KRSTIC, 1985KRSTIC, , 1986a. o.).…”

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confidence: 99%