Developmental and Diurnal Dynamics of Pax4 Expression in the Mammalian Pineal Gland: Nocturnal Down-Regulation Is Mediated by Adrenergic-Cyclic Adenosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate Signaling

Rath, Martin F.; Bailey, Michael; Kim, Jong–So; Ho, Anthony K.; Gaildrat, Pascaline; Coon, Steven L.; Møller, Mette; Klein, David C.

doi:10.1210/en.2008-0882

Cited by 49 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In vertebrates, Otx2 controls the development of both the retina and the pineal gland (29) and another vertebrate paralogue of Otx, cone rod homeobox (Crx) transcription factor, is crucial for the terminal differentiation of the rods and cones (30). Likewise, vertebrate Pax6 is necessary for proper eye development (31,32), and the expression of pax4 is characteristic for differentiated rods and cones (33,34). During later stages, otx and pax4/6 remain expressed in the differentiated Row1 photoreceptors, albeit at lower levels that suffice for maintenance of the differentiated state of the given cell type.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular analysis of the amphioxus frontal eye unravels the evolutionary origin of the retina and pigment cells of the vertebrate eye

Vopálenský

Pergner

Liegertová

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

118

166

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The origin of vertebrate eyes is still enigmatic. The "frontal eye" of amphioxus, our most primitive chordate relative, has long been recognized as a candidate precursor to the vertebrate eyes. However, the amphioxus frontal eye is composed of simple ciliated cells, unlike vertebrate rods and cones, which display more elaborate, surface-extended cilia. So far, the only evidence that the frontal eye indeed might be sensitive to light has been the presence of a ciliated putative sensory cell in the close vicinity of dark pigment cells. We set out to characterize the cell types of the amphioxus frontal eye molecularly, to test their possible relatedness to the cell types of vertebrate eyes. We show that the cells of the frontal eye specifically coexpress a combination of transcription factors and opsins typical of the vertebrate eye photoreceptors and an inhibitory Gi-type alpha subunit of the G protein, indicating an off-responding phototransductory cascade. Furthermore, the pigmented cells match the retinal pigmented epithelium in melanin content and regulatory signature. Finally, we reveal axonal projections of the frontal eye that resemble the basic photosensory-motor circuit of the vertebrate forebrain. These results support homology of the amphioxus frontal eye and the vertebrate eyes and yield insights into their evolutionary origin.evolution | vision | cephalochordate T he evolutionary origin of vertebrate eyes is enigmatic. Charles Darwin appreciated the conceptual difficulty in accepting that an organ as complex as the vertebrate eye could have evolved through natural selection (1). Part of the problem lies in the paucity of extant phyla with useful gradations that occurred during eye evolution, thus providing a scenario that led to the emergence of the vertebrate eye. For example, the eye of the adult lamprey (a jawless vertebrate) is remarkably similar to the eye of jawed vertebrates in the overall design, retina cell types, and multiple classes of opsins (2). Given these similarities, it is likely that the last common ancestor of jawless and jawed vertebrates already possessed an elaborate camera-type lens eye. To understand the seemingly sudden origin of the vertebrate eye, its evolutionary precursor must be identified within the nonvertebrate chordates lacking elaborated eye structures. Because of its basal phylogenetic position within the chordates (3), its slowly evolving genome (4), and its ancestral morphology, the cephalochordate amphioxus represents a traditional model organism for understanding the origin of vertebrate organs. Extensive electron microscopy studies of the cerebral vesicle of the basal chordate amphioxus revealed several putative photoreceptive organs-dorsal ocelli, Joseph cells, lamellar body, and the unpaired "frontal eye" (5). The pigmented dorsal ocelli and the Joseph cells are morphologically and molecularly related to invertebrate eye photoreceptors (6, 7), whereas the frontal eye and the lamellar body traditionally have been homologized to the vertebrate eyes and pineal g...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular analysis of the amphioxus frontal eye unravels the evolutionary origin of the retina and pigment cells of the vertebrate eye

Vopálenský

Pergner

Liegertová

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

118

166

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“…Drug injection. Animals were injected with either vehicle or isoproterenol (10 mg/kg for 3 h from ZT5 to ZT8) as described (42). Light exposure at night experiment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian changes in long noncoding RNAs in the pineal gland

Coon

Munson

Cherukuri

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a broad range of biological roles, including regulation of expression of genes and chromosomes. Here, we present evidence that lncRNAs are involved in vertebrate circadian biology. Differential night/day expression of 112 lncRNAs (0.3 to >50 kb) occurs in the rat pineal gland, which is the source of melatonin, the hormone of the night. Approximately one-half of these changes reflect nocturnal increases. Studies of eight lncRNAs with 2-to >100-fold daily rhythms indicate that, in most cases, the change results from neural stimulation from the central circadian oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (doubling time = 0.5-1.3 h). Light exposure at night rapidly reverses (halving time = 9-32 min) levels of some of these lncRNAs. Organ culture studies indicate that expression of these lncRNAs is regulated by norepinephrine acting through cAMP. These findings point to a dynamic role of lncRNAs in the circadian system.RNA sequencing | neuroendocrine regulation | differential expression | chronobiology

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“…Although several animal models have been developed to study the role of the sympathetic nervous system in homeostatic regulation, the rat has become the preferred experimental species, replacing larger animals (Jänig and Häbler, 2003). Removal of the superior cervical ganglia (SCG), namely superior cervical ganglionectomy (SCGx), was introduced in rats more than 50 years ago (Ifft, 1953) and now represents a valuable microsurgical model in autonomic nervous system research (Romeo et al, 1986(Romeo et al, , 1990(Romeo et al, , 1991aStehle et al, 1993;Møller et al, 1997;Rath et al, 2006Rath et al, , 2009Muñoz et al, 2007). Despite the numerous applications of SCGx, the procedure has never been methodically described in the rat, and a standardized surgical technique is still missing in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%