The intravesicular cocktail and its role in the regulation of exocytosis.

The accumulation of neurotransmitters within secretory vesicles (SVs) far exceeds the theoretical tonic concentrations in the cytosol, a phenomenon that has captivated the attention of scientists for decades. For instance, chromaffin granules can accumulate close to molar concentrations of catecholamines, along with many other products like ATP, calcium, peptides, chromogranins, ascorbate, and other nucleotides. In this short review, we will summarize the interactions that are currently believed to occur between the elements that make up the vesicular cocktail in the acidic environment of SVs, and how they permit the accumulation of such high concentrations of certain components.

Ovarian hormones regulate alpha 1- and beta-adrenoceptor interactions in female rat pinealocytes.

We have examined the effects of alpha 1- and beta-receptor activation on cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation in cultured pinealocytes from female ovariectomized rats, and from intact rats at proestrus treated with the antiestrogen Tamoxifen, the antiprogestagen RU486, or with both. Isoproterenol (a beta-agonist) significantly increased cAMP levels in pinealocytes from intact and ovariectomized rats. This response was considerably enhanced in pinealocytes from rats treated with RU486 or Tamoxifen alone, but not with both.