Neuropeptide Y‐lmmunoreactive Nerve Fibres in the Pineal Gland of the Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Abstract

The distribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY)- and the C-fianking peptide of NPY (CPON)-immunoreactive elements in the pineal gland of the macaque was investigated by means of immunohistochemistry. NPY- and CPON-immunoreactive nerve fibres were located in the precommissural nucleus, around the stria medullaris, and in the posterior commissure. NPY- and CPON-immunoreactive nerve fibres endowed with bulbous varicosities, were traced from the brain via the pineal stalk into the rostral part of the pineal gland. Furthermore, CPON-immunoreactive, and to a lesser extent NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibres, were distributed in the méninges, the choroid plexus and the vasculature related to the pineal organ. Nerve fibres located in the pineal capsule penetrated into the pineal parenchyma, where groups of individual fibres were found most often in an interlobular position. Occasionally, individual nerve fibres dispersed between the pinealocytes were observed. In contrast to the nerve fibres originating from the brain, those originating from the periphery were endowed with smaller immunoreactive nerve terminals. Another apparent difference was that the peripheral nerve fibres innervated only the caudal two-thirds of the gland, whereas the central fibres were found exclusively in the rostral part of the pineal organ. Rarely, positive neuronal-like cells were found in the pineal parenchyma. These results show the presence of a moderate number of NPY- and CPON-immunoreactive nerve fibres within the primate pineal organ and strongly indicate that the primate pineal gland is innervated by NPYergic nerve fibres originating from both a peripheral and a central source.