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Chromaffin Cells as Models of Endocrine Cells and Neurons
Author(s) -
TISCHLER ARTHUR S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2002.tb04498.x
Subject(s) - enteroendocrine cell , pheochromocytoma , cell type , biology , enterochromaffin cell , endocrine system , chromaffin cell , adrenal medulla , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , signal transduction , receptor , endocrinology , medicine , cell , catecholamine , hormone , serotonin , genetics
A bstract : Chromaffin cells have many functional similarities to amine‐ and peptide‐producing endocrine cells throughout the body and to both peripheral and central neurons. The hypothesis of a shared, neural origin for chromaffin cells and most other endocrine cells is not tenable. However, chromaffin cells and their neoplastic counterparts, known as pheochromocytomas, are valuable models for studies of endocrine and neural properties. In this session, PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells are used in two novel applications: to identify profiles of gene expression that may mediate cell death in neurodegenerative disorders and to study mechanisms for transduction of hypoxic signals. Recently described pheochromocytoma cell lines from neurofibromatosis knockout mice are shown to be novel models for signaling by the receptor tyrosine kinase ret, and purified enterochromaffin‐like (ECL) cells are shown to offer new opportunities to study the shared and distinctive aspects of neuroendocrine function using a normal cell type.