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ABSTRACT

Melatonin was measured by radioimmunoassay in homogenates of pineal glands from quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) kept under different photoperiods and in darkness. Under 8-, 12- and 16-h daylengths melatonin levels were increased during the dark period, the duration of the increase depending on the duration of the dark period. As the daylength was increased the peak occurred closer to lights-off, reflecting the more rapid melatonin rise under the longer photoperiods. The pineal melatonin rhythm continued in darkness with an amplitude relative to that seen under a light/dark cycle of slightly less than one-half after 2 days in darkness and one-third after 6 days in darkness. The corresponding average periods of the rhythm were 25·5 h and 25·7 h. These results show that there is a circadian rhythm of melatonin in the pineal gland of the quail which is entrained by light/dark cycles and which continues in darkness.

J. Endocr. (1985) 107, 317–324

ABSTRACT

Using a metaphase arrest technique, mitotic activity was quantified in the adrenal cortex over a 24-h period in 14-day-old male Sprague–Dawley rats before functional rhythmicity of the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is established, and after its onset, in 6- to 7-week-old rats. At all times, proliferative activity was greater in the younger animals, as previously reported. A significant circadian rhythm was identified in both groups, but the timing of the peak differed, lying between 17.00 and 21.00 h at 14 days and 11.00 and 15.00 h at 6–7 weeks. These results raise the possibility that functional rhythmicity of the HPA axis may alter an inherent proliferative rhythm.

Journal of Endocrinology (1989) 120, 307–310

ABSTRACT

A pronounced circadian rhythm has been demonstrated for intact parathyroid hormone (1-84) in the serum of normal male adults. The broad nocturnal rise of parathyroid hormone (1-84) secretion appears to be of physiological significance, for it is accompanied by a significant rise in nephrogenous cyclic adenosine monophosphate. The rate of return of parathyroid hormone (1-84) to baseline concentrations varies between individuals, an observation which has implications for the optimal time of sampling for the investigation of possible mild hyperparathyroidism.

Implantation of a solid source of oestradiol into ovariectomized rats produced constant plasma concentrations of the hormone over a long period of time. Under these conditions, LH is released in a circadian pattern with a very marked peak in the afternoon. This circadian rhythm is synchronized to the light–darkness cycle, since it follows exactly a shift in the nycthemeral cycle. The first peak appeared on day 3 after placement of the oestrogen implant; its amplitude was constant from days 3 to 9 after implantation, and decreased gradually during prolonged implantation. The afternoon peak was not correlated with changes in the pituitary sensitivity to exogenous LH releasing hormone (LH-RH), since the LH response to increasing doses of the peptide could be superimposed in the morning and in the afternoon. However, the decreased amplitude of the rhythm observed after more than 9 days of implantation seemed to depend upon a progressive desensitization of the pituitary gland to LH-RH. Pituitary LH content also decreased as a function of implantation time. It is concluded that, under conditions of constant plasma oestradiol concentrations and of constant pituitary sensitivity to LH-RH, a daily activation of the neural trigger releasing pituitary gonadotrophins occurs.

SUMMARY

Locomotor activity of male hamsters was recorded during long-term exposure to constant light (LL), constant darkness (DD) and during entrainment (modification of a circadian rhythm) to a 14 h light: 10 h darkness photoperiod (14L: 10D). In LL the period of the activity cycle was substantially longer in hypophysectomized than in control animals. This difference persisted during tests in DD. Although hypophysectomy reduced the duration of the active phase in some hamsters, overall the difference between the groups was not significant. The phase angle of onset of activity in 14L: 10D was not affected by hypophysectomy. Hypophysectomized female hamsters tested in DD had activity rhythms whose periods were longer than those of control animals; they were also significantly less active than corresponding controls during the first 4 h of the subjective night but the duration of the active phase did not differ significantly between the groups. These results suggest that hormones of the pituitary-gonadal axis modulate the period of circadian oscillation.

SUMMARY

Continuous monitoring of wheel-running activity and determination of the time of ovulation in rats by serial laparotomies revealed that ovulation followed the onset of running at prooestrus by approximately 9 h (range 7–11 h). This temporal relationship held in rats in which the period of the circadian rhythm had been modified (entrained) by daily exposure to 14 h photoperiods, and in rats in dim continuous light whose rhythms were non-entrained (freerunning). Knowledge of this temporal relationship between the two rhythms made it possible to give bright light signals at known points in the circadian cycle of the rat and to observe the effects on the timing of running and ovulation in subsequent cycles. Giving daily light signals near the onset of running (i.e. at subjective dusk) delayed, whereas giving signals near the end of running (i.e. at subjective dawn) advanced, the time of running and ovulation in subsequent cycles. These results indicate that in rats exposed to the usual laboratory photoperiod the delaying effect of dusk light and the advancing effect of dawn light balance one another; thus the preovulatory surge of LH occurs at a relatively consistent time at prooestrus.

ABSTRACT

Lipogenesis and blood glucose concentrations were determined at 4-hourly intervals in control and insulin-treated golden hamsters maintained on 14-h daily photoperiods (08·00–22·00 h). Lipogenesis was studied by measuring the incorporation of label into liver and fat pad lipids in animals killed 30 min after i.p. [³H]acetate injection and 2 h after insulin or saline (control) injections. Circadian rhythms of lipogenesis and plasma glucose concentration were present in both control and insulin-treated hamsters. In control animals most lipogenic activity occurred during the dark period and early during the daily photoperiod (14 h light: 10 h darkness). There were dramatic differences in the lipogenic (fat pad) and hypoglycaemic responses to insulin which varied as a function of the time of day at which insulin was injected. Insulin stimulated fivefold increases in lipid deposition (fat pad incorporation) when injected late during the dark period but had little or no effect 4–8 h after the onset of light. Daily injections for 8 days also produced variable cumulative effects on body fat stores as a function of the time of day. Insulin injected late during the dark period stimulated a 40% increase in abdominal fat weight over controls, whereas insulin injected at 4 and 12 h after the onset of light had no effect on abdominal fat weight. Insulin decreased plasma glucose concentrations markedly at 8 and 20–24 h after the onset of light but had no apparent hypoglycaemic activity (120 min after its injection) at 4 h after the onset of light. These response rhythms coupled with rhythms of insulin secretion provide a basis for temporal synergisms which could produce a spectrum of physiological conditions as a function of the phase relations between the rhythms.

J. Endocr. (1984) 103, 141–146

SUMMARY

In order to determine whether the timing of ovulation in rats was controlled by an endogenous circadian rhythm, the hour of ovulation was determined by observing tubal ova during laparotomy in adult rats exposed to full animal room illumination (150 lux) during daily photoperiods of 14 h (full LD), continuous 150 lux illumination (full LL), daily dim (0·2 lux) photoperiods of 14 h (dim LD), continuous 0·2 lux illumination (dim LL) or continuous darkness (DD). Rats in all groups except those exposed to full LL continued normal cyclic ovulation. By the second oestrous cycle, most rats in the full LL group failed to ovulate, even though they showed characteristic cyclic changes in the vaginal smear pattern. The hour at which ovulation occurred was similar in rats exposed to full LD, dim LD or DD but was delayed in rats exposed to full LL or dim LL; the longer the period of exposure, the greater was the delay. For a given length of exposure, ovulation was delayed more in full LL than in dim LL. The full LL used in this study produced persistent vaginal oestrus within 40 days, whereas the dim LL did not. The delayed ovulation in rats exposed to dim LL was associated with a delayed preovulatory surge of LH. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the timing of the preovulatory surge of LH and ovulation are controlled by an endogenous circadian rhythm, which in most rats has a periodicity in continuous light of slightly longer than 24 h.

For a period of 21 months between May 1974 and September 1976, circadian variations in the plasma concentration of corticosterone were studied by competitive protein-binding techniques in mature male and female edible frogs living in their natural environment. Blood samples were taken from 8 to 12 frogs six times daily and conventional and cosinor methods were used for statistical analysis.

Circadian rhythms were not detected during February and March (time of hibernation). Circannual rhythms were detected in three parameters of the circadian rhythm. The mean concentration of corticosterone over a 24 h period (24 h mean) reached a peak on 1 May (between 15 April and 15 May; 95% limits of confidence); the annual mean value of the 24 h means was 1·97 ± 0·25 (s.e.m.) μg/100 ml, with an amplitude of 0·66 μg/100 ml (0·53–0·79 μg/100 ml; 95% limits of confidence). Circadian variations in the concentration of corticosterone were largest in May (peak of reproductive activity). The time at which the peak concentration of corticosterone occurred showed circannual variations; peak values were detected around 24.00 h in May, 19.00 h in July and 08.00 h in November.

Both circadian and circannual variations have therefore been demonstrated in an endocrine function of an amphibian in its natural habitat.

Circadian changes in plasma levels of melatonin, prolactin, LH and FSH were studied in four groups: seven healthy young men, six elderly men, six elderly women and six elderly demented patients (two men and four women). The daily activities of the subjects were synchronous and blood samples were taken every 4 h.

The 24-h mean concentrations of prolactin in plasma were the same in all groups, whereas those of LH and FSH were twice as high in the elderly as in the young men and eight and 23 times higher respectively in the elderly women. The 24-h mean plasma levels of melatonin in the elderly were half those in the young, but were not influenced by the sex or mental condition of the subjects.

A statistically significant circadian rhythm for melatonin was defined in the four groups, for prolactin in all groups except the elderly men and for LH only in the demented patients and in the young men. No circadian rhythm could be detected for FSH in any of the four groups. The acrophases of melatonin and prolactin ranged between 02.30 and 04.00 h, those of LH (when a rhythm was validated) clustered around 01.00 h.

The circadian rhythms of plasma levels of melatonin, prolactin and LH are not modified in old age nor in dementia. A positive correlation has been demonstrated in young men between melatonin and LH and between melatonin and prolactin, but no such correlation could be found in the elderly.