Abstract
Large dense core vesicles and chromaffin granules accumulate solutes at large concentrations (for instance, catecholamines, 0.5–1 M; ATP, 120–300 mM; or Ca2+, 40 mM (12)). Solutes seem to aggregate to a condensed protein matrix, which is mainly composed of chromogranins, to elude osmotic lysis. This association is also responsible for the delayed release of catecholamines during exocytosis. Here, we compile experimental evidence, obtained since the inception of single-cell amperometry, demonstrating how the alteration of intravesicular composition promotes changes in the quantum characteristics of exocytosis. As chromaffin cells are large and their vesicles contain a high concentration of electrochemically detectable species, most experimental data comes from this cell model.
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Supported by Spanish MINECO (BFU2013-45253).
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This article is part of the special issue on Chromaffin Cells in Pflügers Archiv—European Journal of Physiology
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Mark Wightman, R., Domínguez, N. & Borges, R. How intravesicular composition affects exocytosis. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 470, 135–141 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-017-2035-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-017-2035-6