Biomaterial Database

No differences in pineal synaptic ribbon and spherule numbers in different stocks and strains of laboratory rats. 1991

S K Saidapur, and A Seidel, and L Vollrath

Anatomisches Institut, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, BRD.

Previous studies have shown that the pineal glands of different stocks and strains of laboratory rats have different melatonin-forming capacities. In the present investigation a widely studied morphological parameter of the pineal, i.e. synaptic ribbon (SR) and synaptic spherule (SS) numbers, was explored in 6 different stocks and strains of laboratory rats, viz.:Han:WIST (albino), LEW/Han (albino), DA/Han (agouti), BN/Han (dark brown), LE/Han (black hooded) and (LEW x BN)/F1 (black with white belly). The rats were maintained under the usual laboratory conditions (lights on from 06.00-18.00 h) for 3 weeks and killed between 10.00-12.00 h, when they were 6 weeks old. The pineals were rapidly excised and processed for transmission electron microscopy. The morphology, distribution (in singles or groups, distant from, or near cell membrane etc.) and number of SR and SS per 20,000 microns2 area of pineal tissue were similar in all groups of rats studied. It is concluded that, in contrast to pineal gland size and melatonin synthesis, SR number is a fairly constant pineal parameter in different stocks and strains of laboratory rats and independent of pigmentation.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D010870	Pineal Gland	A light-sensitive neuroendocrine organ attached to the roof of the THIRD VENTRICLE of the brain. The pineal gland secretes MELATONIN, other BIOGENIC AMINES and NEUROPEPTIDES.	Epiphysis Cerebri,Pineal Body,Corpus Pineale,Gland, Pineal,Pineal Bodies,Pineal Glands
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013569	Synapses	Specialized junctions at which a neuron communicates with a target cell. At classical synapses, a neuron's presynaptic terminal releases a chemical transmitter stored in synaptic vesicles which diffuses across a narrow synaptic cleft and activates receptors on the postsynaptic membrane of the target cell. The target may be a dendrite, cell body, or axon of another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle or secretory cell. Neurons may also communicate via direct electrical coupling with ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES. Several other non-synaptic chemical or electric signal transmitting processes occur via extracellular mediated interactions.	Synapse
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus