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The effects of pineal gland transplantation on the production of spinal deformity and serum melatonin level following pinealectomy in the chicken

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Abstract

Pinealectomy frequently produces spinal deformity in some animal models, but the precise biological mechanism of this phenomenon remains obscure. The current study investigated the effects of an autograft pineal body on the development of spinal deformity and serum melatonin (MLT) concentration after pinealectomy in the chicken. Thirty-six chickens (2 days of age) were divided into three equal groups. While the removal of the pineal gland was performed in groups B and C, a pineal body autograft was surgically implanted into the body wall musculature only in the pineal transplantation group (group C). Chickens in which no surgical intervention was performed served as intact controls (group A). Posteroanterior radiographs of the spines of the chickens were taken at the age of 8 weeks. These were used to determine Cobb angles and to measure the rib-vertebra angles (RVA) on the concave and convex sides of the curves, from which data the difference between the convex and concave RVA (the RVAD) was calculated. At the end of the study, serum MLT levels were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method, and histopathological examination of specimens from all the groups was performed. The results were compared using one-way analysis of variance followed by Duncan's test for pairwise comparisons or by the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the Mann-Whitney U tests for comparisons between two groups. In this study, the serum MLT levels in groups B and C were significantly lower than those in group A (P<0.05). However, scoliosis developed in only 7 of 12 (58%) in group B and 6 of 12 (50%) in group C. The average Cobb angle and RVAD in groups B and C were significantly larger than those found in group A (P=0.000 and P=0.001, respectively). Interestingly, there were no significant differences in either serum MLT levels or development of scoliosis between groups B and C. From the results of the current study, it is evident that the intramuscular pineal gland transplantation following pinealectomy in young Hybro Broiler chickens has no significant effect on the development of spinal deformity and serum MLT level. In the light of this result, the role of MLT in the development of spinal deformity in chickens after pinealectomy remains controversial, and further investigations are warranted.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Ogün Beyazıtlı, Seda Çoşkun and Süleyman Ögün for skilful technical assistance and Hatice Üstün for the statistical analysis. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the secretarial support by Pınar Yüzüak.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  2. Cumhuriyet Mahallesi, Cumhuriyet Caddesi, No:6 Daire:7, 09020 , Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey

    Çiğdem Yenisey

  4. Deptartment of Histology and Embryology, Ege University School of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey

    Ayşegül Uysal & Mine Ertem Yurtseven

  5. Erbeyli Agricultural Research Institute, Aydın, Turkey

    Mehmet Bozkurt

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  1. Mehmet Turgut
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  2. Çiğdem Yenisey
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  3. Ayşegül Uysal
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  4. Mehmet Bozkurt
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  5. Mine Ertem Yurtseven
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Correspondence to Mehmet Turgut.

Additional information

The authors made substantial contributions to the following tasks of research: design (M.T., A.U., M.B.); provision of resources (M.T., M.B., M.E.Y.); collection of data (M.T., Ç.Y., A.U., M.B.); laboratory analysis and interpretation of data (M.T., Ç.Y., A.U., M.B., M.E.Y.); writing and revision of paper (M.T., Ç.Y., A.U., M.E.Y.); study supervision (M.T., M.E.Y). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily their institutions or sources of support. There are no potential conflicts of interest.

This study was presented in part at the 37th National Annual Neurological Congress, Antalya, 31 October–4 November, 2001

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Turgut, M., Yenisey, Ç., Uysal, A. et al. The effects of pineal gland transplantation on the production of spinal deformity and serum melatonin level following pinealectomy in the chicken. Eur Spine J 12, 487–494 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-003-0528-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-003-0528-9

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