Dr.

Sachin Kapur
M.Phil, Phd

20+ years Teaching Experience

4,00,000 Students &

Teachers Mentored

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AIIMS/ AIPMT/ DPMT
Dr. Sachin Kapur
M.Phil, Phd

20+ years Teaching Experience

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Teachers Mentored
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 Chemical Control and
Coordination

Lecture 6

Dr. Sachin Kapur 20+ years Teaching experience

M M.Phil, Phd 4,00,000 Students & Teachers Mentored
Pineal Gland
 Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Gland

➢ It is a small endocrine gland attached to the roof of the third ventricle of brain.
➢ It consists of masses of neuroglia and secretory cells called pinealocytes.
➢ Earlier, it was considered vestigial structure.
➢ It is prominent gland till childhood but gradually it atrophies with onset of puberty.
Chemical Control and Coordination
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Hormones

➢ It secretes following hormones:

○ Melatonin
○ Serotonin.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Gland

➢ It is also called biological clock of the body because it shows rhythm in secretion
of its hormones.
➢ Level of melatonin is more during scotophase (dark phase).
➢ Level of serotonin is more during photophase (light phase).
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Gland

➢ It is also called third eye (parapineal eye).

➢ It is capable of light perception in lower animals (reptiles like sphenodon).
 Synthesis of Pineal Hormones

Tryptophan

Pathway active during

5-OH Tryptophan photophase

Serotonin

Pathway active during

scotophase
Acetyl Serotonin

Melatonin
Pineal Gland

Functions of Pineal Hormones

➢ Melatonin plays a very important role in the regulation of a 24-hour (diurnal)

rhythm of our body.
➢ For example, it helps in maintaining the normal rhythms of sleep-wake cycle,
body temperature.
➢ It also influences metabolism, pigmentation, the menstrual cycle as well as our
defense capability.
Pineal Gland

Functions of Pineal Hormones

➢ As more melatonin is liberated during darkness than in light, this hormone is

thought to promote sleepiness.
➢ In response to visual input from the eyes (retina), the suprachiasmatic nucleus
stimulates sympathetic postganglionic neurons.
➢ These in turn stimulate pinealocytes to secrete melatonin in rhythmic pattern.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Gland

➢ During sleep, plasma levels of melatonin increase tenfold and then decline to a
low level again before awakening.
➢ Small doses of melatonin given orally can induce sleep and reset daily rhythms.
➢ Melatonin also is a potent antioxidant that may provide some protection against
damaging oxygen free radicals.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pineal Gland

➢ Melatonin levels are higher in children and decline with age into adulthood.
➢ Congenitally blind girls attain sexual maturity at an early age.
Thymus
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymus

➢ It is a bilobed organ
located in mediastinum
between sternum and
aorta.
➢ An enveloping layer of
connective tissue holds the
two lobes closely together,
but a connective tissue
capsule separates the two.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymus

➢ It is also called training school of T lymphocytes or throne of immunity.

➢ Extensions of the capsule, called trabeculae, penetrate inward and divide each
lobe into lobules.
➢ Each thymic lobule consists of
○ Deeply staining outer cortex
○ Lighter-staining central medulla.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymus

➢ Cortex is composed of large numbers of

○ T cells
○ Scattered dendritic cells
○ Epithelial cells
○ Macrophages.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymus

➢ Immature T cells (pre-T cells) migrate from red bone marrow to the cortex of the
thymus, where they proliferate and begin to mature.
➢ Epithelial cells help “educate” the pre-T cells in a process known as positive
selection.
➢ These produce thymic hormones that aid in the maturation of T cells.
➢ Only about 2% of developing T cells survive in the cortex.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymus

➢ In infants, it is large, with a mass of about 70 g.

➢ By the time a person reaches maturity, the gland has atrophied considerably,
and in old age it may weigh only 3g.
➢ Before the thymus atrophies, it populates the secondary lymphatic organs and
tissues with T cells.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Thymic Hormones

➢ Hormones produced by thymus are:

○ Thymosin
○ Thymic humoral factor (THF)
○ Thymic factor (TF)
○ Thymopoietin
➢ These promote the maturation of T cells and may retard the aging process.
Pancreas
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pancreas

➢ It is both an endocrine gland and an exocrine gland.

➢ It measures about 12.5–15 cm in length.
➢ It is located in the curve of duodenum and consists of a head, a body, and a tail.
Pancreas
Chemical Control and Coordination

Pancreatic Islets

➢ Roughly 99% of the cells of the pancreas are arranged in clusters called acini.
➢ These produce digestive enzymes, which flow into the gastrointestinal tract
through a network of ducts.
➢ Scattered among the exocrine acini are 1–2 million tiny clusters of endocrine
tissue called pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Cell Types in Pancreatic Islets

➢ Each pancreatic islet includes four types of hormone-secreting cells:

1. Alpha or A cells constitute about 17% of pancreatic islet cells and secrete
glucagon.
2. Beta or B cells constitute about 70% of pancreatic islet cells and secrete insulin.
Chemical Control and Coordination

Cell Types in Pancreatic Islets

3. Delta or D cells constitute about 7% of pancreatic islet cells and secrete

somatostatin (identical to the growth hormone– inhibiting hormone secreted by
the hypothalamus).
4. F cells constitute the remainder of pancreatic islet cells and secrete pancreatic
polypeptide.
Pancreatic Hormones

Functions

➢ Glucagon is hyperglycemic hormone i.e. it raises blood glucose level.

➢ Insulin is hypoglycemic hormone i.e. it lowers blood glucose level.
➢ Somatostatin acts in a paracrine manner to inhibit both insulin and glucagon
release.
➢ Pancreatic polypeptide inhibits somatostatin secretion, gallbladder contraction,
and secretion of digestive enzymes by the pancreas.
Pancreatic Hormones

Regulation

➢ The level of blood glucose controls secretion of glucagon and insulin via
negative feedback:
1. Low blood glucose level (hypoglycemia) stimulates secretion of glucagon from
alpha cells of the pancreatic islets.
2. Glucagon acts on hepatocytes (liver cells) and stimulates glycogenolysis.
3. High blood glucose level inhibits release of glucagon.
Pancreatic Hormones

Regulation

1. High blood glucose (hyperglycemia) stimulates secretion of insulin by beta cells

of the pancreatic islets.
2. Insulin acts on various cells in the body to accelerate facilitated diffusion of
glucose into cells.
Regulation of Pancreatic Hormones
Pancreatic Hormones

Functions of Insulin

1. It speeds up conversion of glucose into glycogen (glycogenesis).

2. It increases uptake of amino acids by cells.
3. It speeds synthesis of fatty acids.
4. It slows down the conversion of glycogen to glucose.
5. It slows down the formation of glucose from lactic acid and amino acids.
Pancreatic Hormones

Regulation

➢ Several other hormones and neurotransmitters also regulate the release of

insulin and glucagon.
➢ Human growth hormone (hGH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
stimulate secretion of insulin.
➢ Acetylcholine stimulates secretion of insulin.
Pancreatic Hormones

Regulation

➢ Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), a hormone released by

enteroendocrine cells of the small intestine in response to the presence of
glucose in the gastrointestinal tract.
➢ Digestion and absorption of food containing both carbohydrates and proteins
provide strong stimulation for insulin release.
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