LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CONSTANT LIGHT OR DARKNESS ON CHICKEN PINEAL HYDROXYINDOLE-O-METHYLTRANSFERASE EXPRESSION - BIOCHEMICAL AND CELLULAR ASPECTS

1. Chickens kept in constant light, as opposed to constant darkness, display a twofold increase in the activity of pineal hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), the last acting enzyme in the melatonin pathway. 2. Using an immunological approach, we presently show that this regulation of HIOMT activity reflects changes in the concentration of a single molecular form of the enzyme protein (a 38 kDa polypeptide). Immunohistofluorescence indicates that these concentration changes concurrently affect modified photo-receptors and pinealocyte-like cells in the chicken pineal organ. 3. Together, the present data support the hypothesis that environmental lighting might regulate the expression of the HIOMT gene.