Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1994-8-4
pubmed:abstractText
Suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) and pars tuberalis (PT) are two structures in the rat exhibiting high affinity receptors for melatonin. Melatonin receptor density in these two structures was previously shown to be inversely related to endogenous ligand concentration, thus elevated at daytime. We now demonstrate that, in the PT, these daily variations are directly induced by the circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin concentration. Variations persist in constant darkness and can only be blocked by pinealectomy. Thus, autoregulation loop of melatonin receptors determines the circadian rhythm in PT melatonin receptor density. However, this process of desensitization does not determine the daily variations in SCN melatonin receptor density. Indeed, in the SCN, the light/dark cycle is the regulatory factor: melatonin receptor density was shown to be specifically reduced during the night even in pinealectomized animals, while one h light was shown to reverse this nocturnal decrease in the SCN. Moreover, this darkness-induced down-regulation of SCN melatonin receptors has a masking effect on the earlier shown ligand-dependent desensitization process in this structure. This explain why, in constant darkness, SCN melatonin receptor density did not show any variation throughout the 24 h subjective day and night, although the circadian rhythm of melatonin persisted. These results thus clearly show that although daily rhythms in the density of melatonin receptors are identical in the PT and in the SCN, their regulation is totally different in each of these two structures.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0006-8993
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
28
pubmed:volume
641
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
92-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1994
pubmed:articleTitle
Daily variations in melatonin receptor density of rat pars tuberalis and suprachiasmatic nuclei are distinctly regulated.
pubmed:affiliation
Neurobiologie des Fonctions Rythmiques et Saisonnières, URA-CNRS 1332, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article