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Cytochemical localization of type-A and -B monoamine oxidase in the rat pineal gland

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Summary

In the mammalian pineal gland, serotonin (5-HT) is located both in the pinealocytes and in the noradrenergic nerve terminals. Pineal 5-HT can be metabolized by three different routes, one of these being its deamination, catalized by monoamine oxidase (MAO). MAO is known to exist as two isozymes, MAO-A and MAO-B. Using two different cytochemical methods at the ultrastructural level, we have localized the presence of MAO in the pineal gland of the rat. The use of selective inhibitors of A-type (clorgyline) and B-type (deprenyl) has shown that MAO-A is localized in the noradrenergic nerve terminals, while pinealocytes contain MAO-B. Taking into account that 5-HT is only deaminated by MAO-A, the specific association of each MAO isozyme with a defined cell type implicates that two cellular compartments are needed in the pineal gland for the biosynthesis of 5-methoxytryptophol and 5-methoxyindole acetic acid, while for the synthesis of melatonin and 5-methoxytryptamine just one cellular compartment, the pinealocyte, is appropriate.

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  1. ≪Neurobiologie des fonctions rythmiques et saisonnières≫, Laboratoire de Zoologie, CNRS-URA 226, Strasbourg, France

    M. Masson-Pévet & P. Pévet

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  1. M. Masson-Pévet
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  2. P. Pévet
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Masson-Pévet, M., Pévet, P. Cytochemical localization of type-A and -B monoamine oxidase in the rat pineal gland. Cell Tissue Res. 255, 299–305 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224112

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