Summary
Effect of short (SP: 10 L: 14 D: Light: Dark) and long (LP: 14 L: 10 D) photoperiod was tested on pineal-thyroid axis in a tropical seasonally breeding rodentF. pennanti during sexually regressive phase of reproduction. SP reduced thyroid weight and plasma thyroxine (T4) as well as increased melatonin (aMT) while pinealectomy (Px) prevented such an effect of SP. LP and Px plus LP had no significant effect on thyroid activity when compared with their respective controls. These results suggest that SP stimulated pineal activity which increased the concentration of aMT, hence inhibited thyroid gland activity. However, the plasma aMT concentration under LP regime had no significant difference from controls, as the ambient photoperiodic length (13.6 hr) was almost similar to the experimental one (14.0 hr). It is suggested that being innervated from the same ganglion (SCG) which conveys photic stimuli to the pineal gland, the thyroid gland like the pineal is also under the influence of photoperiodic responses. Further pineal/melatonin also influences thyroid function indirectly.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attanasio A, Borelli P, Gupta D (1985) Circadian rhythms in serum melatonin from infancy to adolescence. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 612: 388–389
Bruni JF, Marshall S, Dibbet JA, Meites J (1975) Effect of hyper and hypothyroidism on serum LH and FSH levels in intact and gonadectomized male and female rats. Endocrinology 97: 558–563
Bubenik GA, Brown GM, Grota LJ (1976 a) Immunohistochemical localization of melatonin in the rat Harderian gland. J Histochem Cytochem 24: 1173–1178
Bubenik GA, Brown GM, Grota LJ (1976 b) Differential localization of N-acetylated indolealkylamines in CNS and the Harderian gland using immunohistology. Brain Res 118: 417–427
Bubenik GA, Brown GM, Grota LJ (1977) Immunohistological localization of melatonin in the rat digestive system. Experientia 33: 662–663
English J, Arendt J (1988) Characterization of a melatonin binding site in the rat hypothalamus using 2-(125I)-iodo-melatonin. Chin J Physiol Sci 4: 236
Gern W, Ralph C (1979) Melatonin synthesis by the retina. Science 204: 183–185
Haldar-Misra C (1986) Methods of pinealectomy in vertebrates. Ind J Exp Biol 24: 319–322
Haldar-Misra C, Thapliyal JP (1981) Thyroid in reproduction of reptiles. Gen Comp Endocrinol 43: 537–542
Haldar C, Srivastava M (1988) Pineal gland and annual thyroid function of a tropical mammalFunambulus pennanti. Proc Natl Acad Sci India 58: 49–54
Haldar C, Shavali SS (1992) Influence of melatonin on thyroxine (T4) release from thyroid glands of femalF. pennanti: anin vitro study (in press)
Lewinski A, Sewerynek E (1986) Melatonin inhibits the basal and TSH-stimulated mitotic activity of thyroid follicular cells in vivo and in organ culture. J Pineal Res 3: 291–299
Lewinski A, Webb S, Reiter RJ (1984) Possible mechanisms of TSH-independent thyroid growth. Med Hypotheses 14: 141–160
Lewinski A, Webb SM, Sewerynek E, Champney TH, Vaughan MK, Reiter RJ (1986) Influence of melatonin and 5-methoxy-tryptamine on nuclear volume of thyroid follicular cells in the Syrian hamster (mesocricetus auratus). Neuroendocrinol Lett 8: 63–68
Reiter RJ (1991) Pineal melatonin: cell biology of its synthesis and of its physiological interactions. Endocr Rev 12: 151–180
Reiter RJ, Hoffman RA, Hester RJ (1966) The effects of thiourea, photoperiod and the pineal gland on the thyroid, adrenal and reproductive organs of female hamsters. J Exp Zool 162: 263
Rollag MD, Niswender GD (1976) Radioimmunoassay of serum concentrations of melatonin in sheep exposed to different lighting regimens. Endocrinology 98: 482–489
Singh S (1992) Physiology of reproduction in female palm squirrel,Funambulus pennanti. Role of the pineal gland. Thesis, Varanasi, India
Saxena N (1988) Pineal in Indian palm squirrelF. pennanti: 5-methoxyindoles and environmental control of reproduction. Thesis, Varanasi, India
Sewerynek E, Lewinski A, Szudlinski M, Zerek-Melen G (1988) The effect of melatonin and N-acetyl serotonin on mitotic activity of thyroid and adrenal cortex in the rat. Endokrynol Pol 39: 269–275
Snedecor GW, Cocharan WG (1967) Statistical methods. Lowa State Universtiy Press, Ames, Iowa, pp 593
Vaughan MK, Powanda MC, Brainard GC, Johnson LY, Reiter RJ (1982) Effects of blinding of afternoon melatonin injections on plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, TSH and thyroid hormone levels in male and female Syrian hamsters. In: Reiter RJ (ed) The pineal and its hormones. Alan R Liss, New York, pp 177–186
Vriend J (1981) The pineal and melatonin in the regulation of pituitary-thyroid axis. Life Sci 29: 1929–1936
Vriend J (1983) Evidence for pineal gland modulation of the neuroendocrine-thyroid axis. Progr Neuroendocrinol 36: 68–78
Vriend J (1985) Effects of melatonin and thyroxine replacement on thyrotropin, luteinizing hormone, and prolactin in male hypothyroid hamsters. Endocrinology 117: 2402–2407
Vriend J, Reiter RJ (1977) Free thyroxine index in normal, melatonin treated and blind hamsters. Hormone Metab Res 9: 231–234
Vriend J, Sackman JW, Reiter RJ (1977) Effects of blinding, pinealectomy and superior cervical ganglionectomy on free thyroxine index of male golden hamsters. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 86: 758–762
Vriend J, Richardson BA, Vaughan MK, Johnson LY, Reiter RJ (1982) Effects of melatonin on thyroid physiology of female hamsters. Neuroendocrinology 25: 79–85
Wajs E, Krotewicz M, Fryezak J, Kulak J, Sewerynek E, Szudlinski M, Lewinski A (1989) Melatonin suppresses the pinealectomy induced increase of the mitotic activity incidence in the rat thyroid gland. Med Sci Res 17: 61–62
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haldar, C., Shavali, S.S. & Singh, S. Photoperiodic response of pineal-thyroid axis of the female Indian palm squirrel,Funambulus pennanti . J. Neural Transmission 90, 45–52 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01250517
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01250517