Roseboom P H, Coon S L, Baler R, McCune S K, Weller J L, Klein D C
Section on Neuroendocrinology, Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4480.
Endocrinology. 1996 Jul;137(7):3033-45. doi: 10.1210/endo.137.7.8770929.
In vertebrates, the circadian rhythm in the activity of serotonin N-acetyltransferase [arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT); EC 2.3.1.87] drives the daily rhythm in circulating melatonin. We have discovered that expression of the AA-NAT gene in the rat pineal gland is essentially turned off during the day and turned on at night, resulting in a more than 150-fold rhythm. Expression is regulated by a photoneural system that acts through an adrenergic-cAMP mechanism in pinealocytes, probably involving cAMP response element-binding protein phosphorylation. Turning off AA-NAT expression appears to involve de novo synthesis of a protein that attenuates transcription. A approximately 10-fold night/day rhythm in AA-NAT messenger RNA occurs in the retina, and AA-NAT messenger RNA is also detected at low levels in the brain.
在脊椎动物中，血清素N - 乙酰基转移酶[芳基烷基胺N - 乙酰基转移酶（AA - NAT）；EC 2.3.1.87]活性的昼夜节律驱动循环褪黑素的每日节律。我们发现，大鼠松果体中AA - NAT基因的表达在白天基本关闭，在夜间开启，导致出现超过150倍的节律变化。该表达受一个光神经系统调控，该系统通过松果体细胞中的肾上腺素能 - cAMP机制发挥作用，可能涉及cAMP反应元件结合蛋白的磷酸化。关闭AA - NAT表达似乎涉及一种可减弱转录的蛋白质的从头合成。视网膜中AA - NAT信使RNA存在约10倍的昼夜节律变化，并且在脑中也能检测到低水平的AA - NAT信使RNA。
