INVESTIGADORES
GUIDO mario Eduardo
artículos
Título:
Daily variation in melatonin synthesis and AA-NAT activity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Autor/es:
MIGLIORE L; ROMANOWSKI A; SIMONETTA S; VALDEZ DJ; GUIDO ME; GOLOMBEK D
Revista:
JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Año: 2011 p. 1 - 9
ISSN:
0742-3098
Resumen:
Melatonin controls circadian rhythms and seasonal behavioral changes in vertebrates; it is
synthesized from serotonin by N-acetylation by arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT)
and O-methylation by hydroxyindole-O-methyl transferase (HIOMT). However, its
physiology and function in invertebrate models is less understood.
In this work, we studied daily variations in melatonin synthesis and AA-NAT activity in the
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Under light-dark conditions (LD) a rhythmic pattern of
melatonin levels was observed, with higher levels of the hormone towards the middle of the
night, peaking at ZT18 and with a minimum value around ZT0-6. AA-NAT activity
showed a diurnal and circadian fluctuation with higher levels of activity during the early
night, both under LD and DD conditions (a peak was found around ZT12/CT12). In
addition, we investigated whether this nocturnal AA-NAT activity is inhibited by light. Our
results show that both white and blue light pulses significantly inhibited AA-NAT activity
at ZT 18.
This work demonstrates the daily fluctuation of melatonin synthesis and AA-NAT activity
in the adult nematode C. elegans. In summary, this study takes additional advantage of an
extremely useful invertebrate model system which has only recently been exploited for
circadian studies.Caenorhabditis elegans. Under light-dark conditions (LD) a rhythmic pattern of
melatonin levels was observed, with higher levels of the hormone towards the middle of the
night, peaking at ZT18 and with a minimum value around ZT0-6. AA-NAT activity
showed a diurnal and circadian fluctuation with higher levels of activity during the early
night, both under LD and DD conditions (a peak was found around ZT12/CT12). In
addition, we investigated whether this nocturnal AA-NAT activity is inhibited by light. Our
results show that both white and blue light pulses significantly inhibited AA-NAT activity
at ZT 18.
This work demonstrates the daily fluctuation of melatonin synthesis and AA-NAT activity
in the adult nematode C. elegans. In summary, this study takes additional advantage of an
extremely useful invertebrate model system which has only recently been exploited for
circadian studies.C. elegans. In summary, this study takes additional advantage of an
extremely useful invertebrate model system which has only recently been exploited for
circadian studies.