Journal
JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH
Volume 65, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/jpi.12528
Keywords
arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase; cerebrospinal fluid; choroid plexus; melatonin; mitochondria
Categories
Funding
- FCT/MEC [UID/QUI/50006/2013]
- FCT fellowship [SFRH/BPD/70781/2010]
- FEDER [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007491]
- FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/Multi/00709/2013]
- CENSE-Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research [UID/AMB/04085/2013]
- ERDF [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007265]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/70781/2010] Funding Source: FCT
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The cerebrospinal fluid melatonin is released from the pineal gland, directly into the third ventricle, or produced de novo in the brain from extrapineal melatonin sources leading to a melatonin concentration gradient in the cerebrospinal fluid. Despite the interest on this topic, the brain areas capable of producing melatonin are not yet clear. Bearing this in mind, we hypothesized that the choroid plexus (CP) could be one of these melatonin sources. We analyzed and confirmed the presence of the four enzymes required for melatonin synthesis in rat CP and demonstrated that arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase shows a circadian expression in female and male rat CP. Specifically, this enzyme colocalizes with mitochondria in rat CP epithelial cells, an organelle known to be involved in melatonin function and synthesis. Then, we demonstrated that melatonin is synthesized by porcine CP explants, although without a circadian pattern. In conclusion, our data show that the CP is a local source of melatonin to the central nervous system, probably contributing to its high levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. We believe that in the CP, melatonin might be regulated by its endogenous clock machinery and by the hormonal background.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available