Neural control of glycogen content and its diurnal rhythm in mouse pineal cell

In adult male dd mice, possible mechanisms regulating the glycogen content in the pineal cell were investigated by a semiquantitative histochemical method, with particular reference to the role of the sympathetic innervation. Reserpine, superior cervical ganglionectomy (SCGX), or decentralization of the ganglia (DC), as well as continuous light, prevented the nocturnal decrease in the glycogen content, causing a marked increase, and caused a gradual decrease in the size of the pineal cell. In the SCGX or DC group, the glycogen content reached a peak at 2 days and then decreased gradually. The nocturnal decrease was also prevented by propranolol. Noradrenaline caused a marked decrease in the glycogen content. These findings support the hypothesis that the glycogen metabolism and its diurnal rhythm in the pineal cell are regulated by the sympathetic nerve terminals innervating the pineal gland, presumably by the release of noradrenaline. In addition, the nature of the internal mechanism in the organism generating the pineal glycogen rhythm was examined. Light was considered to induce a phase shift in such a mechanism, but reserpine was not.