What do pinealocytes do?
The pinealocyte defines the pineal gland and functions to synthesize melatonin. It is responsible for essentially all melatonin in the circulation and for the increase that occurs at night. Photic regulation of the pineal gland varies among vertebrates.
What are pinealocytes made of?
The normal pineal gland contains pinealocytes derived from amino precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) cells and glial cells (astrocytes).
Which types of pinealocytes do you know?
There are two types of pinealocytes: (1) type 1 pinealocytes and (2) type 2 pinealocytes. The type 1 pinealocytes (also called as light pinealocytes) are round or oval in shape. Their diameter ranges from 7 to 11 μm. They are typically more numerous in number and also the more active than type 2.
How does one distinguish between the pinealocytes and glia cells?
Pinealocytes have larger, lighter staining nuclei and glial cells have small darker staining nuclei. With age, calcified formations appear in the pineal gland (brain sand or corpora aranacea ).
How are pinealocytes identified in the retina?
Pinealocytes are identified histologically using agents that stain for enzymes involved in melatonin synthesis and for some proteins involved in phototransduction. 36 In this regard, one target that stands out is S-antigen, 5,37-40 which is expressed at high levels only in the pineal gland and retina.
What is the role of the liver in protein synthesis?
Protein synthesis is the process whereby the body’s cells make proteins that are necessary for cell structure and function. Liver cells play a role in protein synthesis and amino acid metabolism, and is involved in the production of ammonia.
Which is the primary cell culture of avian pinealocytes?
Primary cell cultures of avian pinealocytes and the mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), immortalized cell lines derived from the SCN (SCN2.2), and fibroblasts derived from mice and rats have been employed as in vitro models to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying circadian biological clocks.
What are some of the functions of the liver?
Another liver function is when the it processes a meal, it removes sugar from the blood and stores it in the form of glycogen. When a person’s blood sugar decreases, it converts that stored glycogen to glucose, adding the proper amount of instant energy into the bloodstream for the cells to use.
