Fig. 1.

Serotonin N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) gene expression and melatonin secretion in pineal gland tissue in animals exposed to light-dark cycles or complete dark for 1 wk. AANAT mRNA expression and melatonin secretion increases in the pineal gland from normal and bile duct ligation (BDL) + dark rats compared with their corresponding rats. A: data are means ± SE of 4 experiments. *P < 0.05 compared with normal rats. #P < 0.05 BDL + dark compared with BDL. B: data (means ± SE, n = 6 experiments) are expressed as pg/μg protein. *P < 0.05 compared with normal rats. #P < 0.05 BDL + dark compared with BDL.