Premium
Electrical activity in endocrine pituitary cells in situ: A support for a multiple‐function coding
Author(s) -
Bonnefont Xavier,
Mollard Patrice
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(03)00727-0
Subject(s) - endocrine system , anterior pituitary , enteroendocrine cell , pituitary gland , in situ , cytosol , calcium , neuroscience , biophysics , biology , chemistry , endocrinology , medicine , hormone , biochemistry , organic chemistry , enzyme
The anterior pituitary is an endocrine gland that controls basic body functions. Pituitary cell functioning depends on membrane excitability, which induces cytosolic calcium rises. Here, we reported the first identification of small‐amplitude voltage fluctuations that controlled spike firing in endocrine cells recorded in situ. Three patterns of voltage fluctuations were distinguishable by their durations (1–100 s). These patterns could be ordered on top of each other, namely in response to secretagogues. Thus, pituitary endocrine cells express in situ a cell code in which small‐amplitude voltage fluctuations lead to a multimodal arrangement of spike firing, which may finely tune calcium‐dependent functions.