Chorthip Santhanavanich. The function of D1- and D2-dopamine receptors in bovine pineal gland. Doctoral Degree(Neurosciences). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2004.
The function of D1- and D2-dopamine receptors in bovine pineal gland
Abstract:
Previous studies from this laboratory have identified and characterized D1- and
D2-dopamine receptors in bovine pineal glands. The data indicated a density of D1-
dopamine receptors (974 fmol/mg protein) far exceeding that of D2-dopamine
receptors (37 fmol/mg protein). The purpose of this research is to identify the mRNA
for both D1- and D2-dopamine receptors and to elucidate the status of dopamine and its
possible involvement in the pineal function, particularly on melatonin synthesis. The
expression of these dopamine receptor subtypes was determined by using a reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique with specific pairs of primers to
amplify D1- and D2-dopamine receptor mRNA. Amplification of RNA from a bovine
striatum (positive control) and a bovine pineal gland resulted in products of the
predicted lengths of 231 base pairs for D1- and 333 base pairs for D2-dopamine
receptors. The results indicated that mRNA from both D1- and D2-dopamine receptors
is present in the bovine pineal gland. The role of dopamine receptors was investigated
by studying the effects of selective D1- and D2-dopamine agonists and antagonists on
the N-acetyltransferase activity of cultured bovine pinealocytes.
The data showed that SKF-38393 (a selective D1-agonist) enhances Nacetyltransferase
activity and increases the melatonin level and its stimulatory effect is
blocked by SCH-23390 (a D1-selective antagonist). On the other hand, quinpirole (a
selective D2-agonist) was found to inhibit N-acetyltransferase activity and decrease the
melatonin level, and its inhibitory effect was found to be blocked by spiperone,
haloperidol, and domperidone (D2-selective antagonists). The level of cyclic 3', 5'-
adenosine monophosphate was enhanced after a two-hour incubation of bovine
pinealocytes with SKF-38393 and inhibited after incubation with quinpirole, while the
effect of each was blocked by SCH-23390 and spiperone, respectively. Regarding
phosphorylation, it was found that either SKF-38393 or forskolin enhances the
phosphorylation of cyclic 3', 5'-adenosine monophosphate responsive element-binding
protein, while their effects are inhibited by SCH-23390 and quinpirole, respectively.
In conclusion, this study directly demonstrates for the first time that, in the
mammalian pineal gland, dopamine enhances the melatonin level by stimulating Nacetyltransferase
activity by means of the D1-dopamine receptor. In the bovine pineal
gland I also found dopamine-dependent phosphorylation of the transcription factor of
cyclic 3', 5'-adenosine monophosphate responsive element-binding protein, such as
norepinephrine. However, the presence of dopamine containing fibers and the
localization of specific dopamine receptors in the pineal gland need to be further
elucidated.