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T van Veen

Publications and source records attributed to T van Veen.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The parapineal and pineal organs of the elver (glass eel), Anguilla anguilla L.

The parapineal organ of the glass eel (elver) consists of approximately 400 cells and is situated to the left of the connection of the pineal stalk to their ventricle. A conspicuous nerve tract containing approximately 350 fibers arises from the parapineal organ and runs in spatial relationship to the habenular commissure toward the left habenular nucleus. The dominating cell type of the parapineal organ of the elver is a neuron (sensory neuron) of small diameter provided with atypical cilia (9 x 2 + 0, or rarely 8 x 2 + 0 types). Well-developed photoreceptor outer segments are lacking, and no interstitial cells of ependymal type have been observed with certainty in the parapineal organ. The axonal processes from the nerve cells form the tract leaving the parapineal organ. The pineal organ proper of the elver consists of photoreceptor cells with well-developed outer segments, interstitial cells of ependymal type, and ganglion cells. Axons from the latter form the pineal tract, which leaves the pineal organ and runs in close contact with the subcommissural organ toward the posterior commissure. The proximal part of the pineal stalk contains only a few photoreceptor cells the outer segments of which are less developed than those of the pineal body and the distal part of the pineal stalk.

Animals↗

Monoamines in the brain of the lancelet, Branchiostoma lanceolatum. A fluorescence-histochemical and electron-microscopical investigation.

Three types of monoamine-containing neurones and fibres can be discriminated in the brain of the lancelet. Two types of elongated cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons, located in the ventral and the dorsolateral part of the brain, exhibit formaldehyde-induced catecholamine fluorescence. These neurones contain dense-core vesicles 75-100 nm in diameter. Their apical portion possesses cilia, displaying a 9 X 2 + 2 arrangement of their internal tubuli, and projecting into the ventricle. Basal processes from the ventrally situated perikarya abut upon the meninx and may discharge their catecholamines into the circulatory system. Fibres exhibiting catecholamine fluorescence originate from the dorsolaterally situated perikarya and run ventrocaudally to the neuropil, where they form numerous swellings of the bouton en passant type. A third type of perikarya in the posterior part of the brain displays specific green fluorescence. Further, neurones characterized by a specific yellow fluorescence are present in the anterior part of the brain and the anterior part of the neural tube. The rapid photodecomposition of the latter fluorophore indicates that these cells contain an indolamine.

Animals↗

The pineal complex of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.: a light-, electron microscopic and fluorescence histochemical investigation.

The pineal complex of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) was investigated by light and electron microscopy, as well as fluorescence histochemistry for demonstration of catecholamines and indolamines. The pineal complex of the stickleback consists of a pineal organ and a small parapineal organ situated on the left side of the pineal stalk. The pineal organ, including the entire stalk, is comprised mainly of ependymal-type interstitial cells and photoreceptor cells with well-developed outer segments. Both unmyelinated and myelinated nerve fibres are present in the pineal organ. Nerve tracts from the stalk enter the habenular and posterior commissures. A small bundle of nerve fibres connects the parapineal organ and the left habenular body. The presence of indolamines (5-HTP, 5-HT) was demonstrated in cell bodies of both the pineal body and the pineal stalk, and catecholaminergic nerve fibres surround the pineal complex.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗

Effect of superior cervical ganglionectomy on monoamine content in the epithalamic area of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus): a fluorescence histochemical study.

Extirpation of the superior cervical ganglion was performed in a series of Mongolian gerbils. One or two weeks after the ganglionectomy the animals were injected with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Subsequently perfusion fixation was performed using the glyoxylic acid-paraformaldehydr-magnesium method (Lorén et al., 1976) for fluorescence histochemical investigation of the monoamines of the pineal complex. In the ganglionectomized animals all of the blue-fluorescent sympathetic fibers in the pineal complex (superficial pineal gland, deep pineal gland and the pineal stalk) completely disappeared. The yellow indolamine fluorescence of the cells in the superficial pineal and the deep pineal, as well as in the pineal stalk, was markedly reduced after ganglionectomy. No change in the morphology or number of sympathetic fibers in the medial habenular nucleus was observed. These results indicate that the presence of sympathetic nerve fibers with perikarya in the superior cervical ganglion is necessary for maintaining a high indolamine content in all three parts of the pineal complex. In addition, the results also indicate that the deep pineal gland is a functional part of the pineal complex. The presence of a functionally active deep pineal, bordering the pineal recess, suggests that part of the pineal hormones might be secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

Formaldehyde-induced fluorescence in the telencephalon and diencephalon of the eel (Anguilla anguilla l.). A fluorescence-microscopic and microspectrofluorometric investigation with special reference to the innervation of the pituitary.

In the telencephalon and diencephalon of the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) formaldehyde-induced fluorescence was studied microscopically and microfluorometrically with special emphasis on the innervation of the pituitary. In the telencephalon fluorescent fibers contained predominantly noradrenaline fluorophores. Fluorescent nuclei could not be established. In the diencephalon fluorescent perikarya were found in: (1) the paraventricular organ (PVO), possessing either dopamine or, to a lesser extent, serotonin fluorophores; (2) the PVO-accompanying group, exhibiting spectral data resembling those of noradrenaline fluorophores; (3) the nucleus hypothalami anterior (NHA), a small paired group of catecholamine-containing cells posterior to the commissura transversa.--The nucleus lobi inferioris exhibited a high density of delicate, most probably dopamine-containing terminals, while fibers surrounding this nucleus contained noradrenaline fluorophores. A high density of fluorescent terminals containing dopamine and/or noradrenaline was found in the habenular complex. Fluorescent terminals in the pituitary contained fluorophores resembling either dopamine or noradrenaline. Fluorescent tracts entered the pituitary from different directions. A rostral, unpaired tract enters the neurointermediate lobe, as also verified experimentally. The rostral pars distalis receives two paired tracts, one from a rostral and one from a dorsal direction. The proximal pars distalis also receives two paired tracts, one from a dorsal and one from a posterior direction.

Anguilla↗

Increased TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels during the time of retinal degeneration in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of human disorders that is characterized by diminished retinal function, visual cell loss, and blindness. Elevated levels of TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA, a marker for the apoptotic process, have been reported in retinas from patients with advanced stage RP. In the present study we examine TRPM-2/clusterin expression in two genetically distinct mouse models of RP, the rd (retinal degeneration) and rds (retinal degeneration slow) mice. We establish that in advanced postretinal degenerative stages of the rd mutant the retinal TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels are highly elevated, as is seen in the case of human RP. Examination of TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels in retina and whole eyes from the rd mouse and morphologically normal controls during the period of retinal degeneration (postnatal days 8-21) in the rd phenotype shows that TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels are elevated in the rd animal, and this increase begins just after postnatal day 10 and remains high for the remainder of the time course examined. Northern analysis of rds retina and whole eyes shows a delayed increase in TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels relative to the rd profile, coinciding with the known period of rds retinal degeneration (postnatal day 14 to 1 year). In each case, the onset of increased TRPM-2/clusterin mRNA levels coincides with the time of photoreceptor cell death.

Animals↗

Cellular organization in retinal transplants using cell suspensions or fragments of embryonic retinal tissue.

We have investigated the cellular organization in two different types of retinal transplants using cell type-specific monoclonal antibodies. Both fragments and cell suspensions of E17-E19 Sprague-Dawley rat retina were transplanted to a subretinal site in congenic adult rat hosts. After a survival time of 28 days, the transplants were stained by immunocytochemistry with antibodies against rhodopsin, which stained rods; with antibodies against HPC-1, which stained amacrine cells and outer and inner plexiform layers; and with antibodies against vimentin, which stained Müller cell fibers and horizontal cells. In the host retina, the distribution of immunocytochemical staining was similar, irrespective of transplantation technique. In the transplants, the anti-rhodopsin staining showed that fragment transplants developed photoreceptors in rosettes, whereas in cell suspension transplants, this staining showed a scattered distribution of photoreceptors. The HPC-1 staining showed that regions corresponding to the inner nuclear layer surrounded both types of transplants and made large invaginations into them. In one case, using the cell suspension technique, fibres were found to run from the inner plexiform layer of the transplant to the outer plexiform layer of the host. The vimentin staining revealed a disorganized array of Müller cell fibres in both types of transplants, but with some concentration to the regions corresponding to the inner plexiform layer.

Animals↗