Ca 2+ signaling mechanisms in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells

Abstract

Calcium (Ca 2+) is a crucial intracellular messenger in physiological aspects of cell signaling. Adrenal chromaffin cells are the secretory cells from the adrenal gland medulla that secrete catecholamines, which include epinephrine and norepinephrine important in the 'fight or flight' response. Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells have long been used as an important model for secretion -(exocytosis) not only due to their importance in the short-term stress response, but also as a neuroendocrine model of neurotransmtter release, as they have all the same exocytotic proteins as neurons but are easier to prepare, culture and use in functional assays. The components of the Ca 2+ signal transduction cascade and it role in secretion has been extensively characterized in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. The Ca 2+ sources, signaling molecules and how this relates to the short-term stress response are reviewed in this book chapter in an endeavor to generally -overview these mechanisms in a concise and uncomplicated manner. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.