Ontogeny of light-induced decrease of N-acetyltransferase activity in explanted chick pineal glands

The ontogeny of chick pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity was investigated in explanted chick pineal glands at 4, 10 and 21 d of age. Nocturnal levels of the enzyme and the response of the enzyme to light exposure were determined in pineal glands maintained in short-term culture at each age. The results indicate that nocturnal NAT activity was increased in the glands from older birds. Nocturnal levels of NAT activity at the time of the initiation of the experiment were threefold greater in glands from 21-d-old birds as compared to that in glands from 4-day-old chicks. The response to light was similar in all three ages examined; light induced a significant decrease in NAT activity within 60 min in explanted glands from 4-d-old chicks and within 180 min in the glands from the 10- and 21-d-old chicks. A paradoxical transient increase in enzyme activity occurred immediately (within 5 min) following light exposure which was significant in the glands from the youngest chicks, and present, but more variable, in the older chicks. These data indicate that the nocturnal enzyme activity is greater in glands from older birds, but that light exposure of explanted glands initiates a transient rise followed by a decrease in NAT activity at all three ages.