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Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 203, Issue 1 117-125, Copyright © 2000 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Synaptic-like microvesicles, synaptic vesicle counterparts in endocrine cells, are involved in a novel regulatory mechanism for the synthesis and secretion of hormones

Y Moriyama, M Hayashi, H Yamada, S Yatsushiro, S Ishio and A Yamamoto
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan. moriyama@pheasant.pharm.okayama-u.ac.jp.

Microvesicles in endocrine cells are the morphological and functional equivalent of neuronal synaptic vesicles. Microvesicles accumulate various neurotransmitters through a transmitter-specific vesicular transporter energized by vacuolar H(+)-ATPase. We found that mammalian pinealocytes, endocrine cells that synthesize and secrete melatonin, accumulate l-glutamate in their microvesicles and secrete it through exocytosis. Pinealocytes use l-glutamate as either a paracrine- or autocrine-like chemical transmitter in a receptor-mediated manner, resulting in inhibition of melatonin synthesis. In this article, we briefly describe the overall features of the microvesicle-mediated signal-transduction mechanism in the pineal gland and discuss the important role of acidic organelles in a novel regulatory mechanism for hormonal synthesis and secretion.




© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2000