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Effects of Injection of Bovine Pineal Extract on the Nuclei of Rat Pineal Parenchymal Cells

Nature volume 186, pages 393–394 (1960)Cite this article

Abstract

THE pineal parenchymal cells are known to be rich in nucleoprotein1,2. Oksche3 showed that pineal-cell nuclei contain a ‘nucleolus apparatus’ which extrudes some nuclear substance into the cellular cytoplasm. In general, the number of nucleoli and intranuclear granules in any cell is probably a useful index of the rate of protein synthesis4. This idea has led several authors to use pineal intranuclear changes as evidence of changed pineal functional status: both Oksche3 and Quay5 reported variations in pineal intranuclear activity owing to changes in illumination of their animals' cages. Quay5 also correlated changes in pineal cell nuclei with periodic variations in pituitary gonadotropic activity.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Laboratories, Harvard University,

    UNO HOLMGREN, MARK D. ALTSCHULE & RICHARD J. WURTMAN

  2. the Laboratory of Clinical Physiology, McLean Hospital, Waverley, Massachusetts

    UNO HOLMGREN, MARK D. ALTSCHULE & RICHARD J. WURTMAN

Authors
  1. UNO HOLMGREN
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  2. MARK D. ALTSCHULE
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  3. RICHARD J. WURTMAN
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HOLMGREN, U., ALTSCHULE, M. & WURTMAN, R. Effects of Injection of Bovine Pineal Extract on the Nuclei of Rat Pineal Parenchymal Cells. Nature 186, 393–394 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/186393a0

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