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Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 284: R1043-R1052, 2003; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00457.2002
0363-6119/03 $5.00
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Vol. 284, Issue 4, R1043-R1052, April 2003

Mechanisms regulating the marked seasonal variation in melatonin synthesis in the European hamster pineal gland

Marie-Laure Garidou1, Berthe Vivien-Roels1, Paul Pévet1, Jesus Miguez2, and Valérie Simonneaux1

1 Neurobiologie des Rythmes, Unité Mixte de Recherche-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7518, Université Louis Pasteur, 67000 Strasbourg, France; and 2 Laboratorio de Fisiologia, Universidad de Vigo, 36200 Vigo Pontevedra, Spain

Like many wild species, the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) adapts to the marked seasonal changes in its environment, namely by hibernation and inhibition of sexual activity in winter. These annual functions are driven by the variation in the environmental factors (light, temperature) that are transmitted to the body through large variations in the duration and amplitude of the nocturnal melatonin rhythm. Here we report that the seasonal variation in melatonin synthesis is mainly driven by arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase gene transcription and enzyme activation. This, however, does not exclude participation of hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase, which may relay environmental temperature information. The in vivo experiments show that norepinephrine stimulates melatonin synthesis, this effect being gated at night. The possibility that the variation in pineal metabolism depends on a seasonal change in the suprachiasmatic nuclei clock circadian activity that is transmitted by norepinephrine is discussed.

seasonal rhythm; arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase; hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase; norepinephrine; neuropeptides


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V. Simonneaux and C. Ribelayga
Generation of the Melatonin Endocrine Message in Mammals: A Review of the Complex Regulation of Melatonin Synthesis by Norepinephrine, Peptides, and Other Pineal Transmitters
Pharmacol. Rev., June 1, 2003; 55(2): 325 - 395.
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