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Stress‐induced Intercellular Communication Remodeling in the Rat Adrenal Medulla
Author(s) -
Colomer Claude,
Lafont Chrystel,
Guérineau Nathalie C.
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1196/annals.1410.040
Subject(s) - intracellular , adrenal medulla , medulla , chemistry , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biology , catecholamine
To understand the mechanisms by which a prolonged exposure to stress enhances catecholamine secretion, we examined the effects of 5‐day cold exposure on cell–cell communication pathways in the rat adrenal medulla. Upon stress, the neurosecretory tissue undergoes dramatic morphofunctional changes resulting in increased chromaffin cell excitability, upregulation of both chemical transmission at the splanchnic nerve terminal–chromaffin cell synapses and spreading of gap junction–permeant Lucifer yellow between cells. All these changes converge to improve the stimulus‐secretion coupling efficiency within the adrenal medulla and subsequently to adapt catecholamine release to a sustained organism demand.