Cross-section of pineal gland displaying pinealocytes and other cells
Details
System
Endocrine system
Location
Pineal gland
Identifiers
Latin
pinealocytus, endocrinocitus pineale
TH
H3.08.02.3.00002
FMA
83417
Anatomical terms of microanatomy
[edit on Wikidata]
Pinealocytes are the main cells contained in the pineal gland, located behind the third ventricle and between the two hemispheres of the brain. The primary function of the pinealocytes is the secretion of the hormone melatonin, important in the regulation of circadian rhythms.[1] In humans, the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus communicates the message of darkness to the pinealocytes, and as a result, controls the day and night cycle.[2] It has been suggested that pinealocytes are derived from photoreceptor cells.[3][4] Research has also shown the decline in the number of pinealocytes by way of apoptosis as the age of the organism increases.[5] There are two different types of pinealocytes, type I and type II, which have been classified based on certain properties including shape, presence or absence of infolding of the nuclear envelope, and composition of the cytoplasm.
^Pandi-Perumal SR, Srinivasan V, Maestroni GJ, Cardinali DP, Poeggeler B, Hardeland R (July 2006). "Melatonin: Nature's most versatile biological signal?". The FEBS Journal. 273 (13): 2813–38. doi:10.1111/j.1742-4658.2006.05322.x. PMID 16817850.
^Maronde E, Stehle JH (2007). "The mammalian pineal gland: known facts, unknown facets". Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 18 (4): 142–9. doi:10.1016/j.tem.2007.03.001. PMID 17374488. S2CID 20907798.
^Mano H, Fukada Y (2006). "A median third eye: pineal gland retraces evolution of vertebrate photoreceptive organs". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 83 (1): 11–8. doi:10.1562/2006-02-24-IR-813. PMID 16771606. S2CID 13037403.
^Klein DC (2006). "Evolution of the vertebrate pineal gland: the AANAT hypothesis". Chronobiology International. 23 (1–2): 5–20. doi:10.1080/07420520500545839. PMID 16687276. S2CID 29845507.
^Polyakova VO, Linkova NS, Pichugin SA (February 2011). "Changes in apoptosis and cell proliferation in human pineal gland during aging". Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 150 (4): 468–70. doi:10.1007/s10517-011-1170-x. PMID 22268045. S2CID 19539906.
Pinealocytes are the main cells contained in the pineal gland, located behind the third ventricle and between the two hemispheres of the brain. The primary...
ganglia. The pineal body in humans consists of a lobular parenchyma of pinealocytes surrounded by connective tissue spaces. The gland's surface is covered...
Secreted hormone From cells Effect Melatonin Pinealocytes Antioxidant Monitors the circadian rhythm including induction of drowsiness and lowering of the...
distribution of neurons. The principal cell type of the pineal is the pinealocyte sensu stricto. This type of cell has a prominent nucleus and a granular...
vestibular organ receptors, cochlear hair cells, retinal bipolar cells, and pinealocytes. The synaptic ribbon is a unique structure at the active zone of the...
TPH expression is limited to a few specialized tissues: raphe neurons, pinealocytes, mast cells, mononuclear leukocytes, beta-cells of the islets of Langerhans...
astrocytes, ganglion cells, blood vessels, and pinealocytes, which are the cells of this organ. Pinealocytes are specialized neurons, which are rich in monoaminergic...
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