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European Journal of Applied Physiology... Feb 1998The adrenaline release from the adrenal medulla increases during exercise, but at a given absolute work intensity the magnitude of this response is less pronounced in... (Review)
Review
The adrenaline release from the adrenal medulla increases during exercise, but at a given absolute work intensity the magnitude of this response is less pronounced in endurance trained vs sedentary individuals most likely due to a lower sympathetic stimulation of the adrenal medulla. However, when trained and untrained subjects are compared at identical relative work loads as well as in response to numerous non-exercise stimuli. endurance trained athletes have a higher epinephrine secretion capacity compared to sedentary individuals. This indicates a development of a so-called "sports adrenal medulla" as a result of a long term adaptation of an endocrine gland to physical training. Such an adaptation is parallel to adaptations taking place in other tissues like skeletal muscle and the heart. and can be advantageous in relation to both exercise performance in the competing athlete and cause a biological rejuvenation in relation to aging.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Epinephrine; Exercise; Female; Humans; Male; Physical Endurance
PubMed: 9535578
DOI: 10.1007/s004210050321 -
Stem cells, evolutionary aspects and pathology of the adrenal medulla: A new developmental paradigm.Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Dec 2020The mammalian adrenal gland is composed of two main components; the catecholaminergic neural crest-derived medulla, found in the center of the gland, and the... (Review)
Review
The mammalian adrenal gland is composed of two main components; the catecholaminergic neural crest-derived medulla, found in the center of the gland, and the mesoderm-derived cortex producing steroidogenic hormones. The medulla is composed of neuroendocrine chromaffin cells with oxygen-sensing properties and is dependent on tissue interactions with the overlying cortex, both during development and in adulthood. Other relevant organs include the Zuckerkandl organ containing extra-adrenal chromaffin cells, and carotid oxygen-sensing bodies containing glomus cells. Chromaffin and glomus cells reveal a number of important similarities and are derived from the multipotent nerve-associated descendants of the neural crest, or Schwann cell precursors. Abnormalities in complex developmental processes during differentiation of nerve-associated and other progenitors into chromaffin and oxygen-sensing populations may result in different subtypes of paraganglioma, neuroblastoma and pheochromocytoma. Here, we summarize recent findings explaining the development of chromaffin and oxygen-sensing cells, as well as the potential mechanisms driving neuroendocrine tumor initiation.
Topics: Adrenal Gland Diseases; Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Biological Evolution; Cell Differentiation; Humans; Neural Crest; Stem Cells
PubMed: 32818585
DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.110998 -
Folia Morphologica 2017The outcome of the autograft therapy for Parkinson's disease including autologous cells from adrenal medulla was disappointing. This could be attributed to the...
BACKGROUND
The outcome of the autograft therapy for Parkinson's disease including autologous cells from adrenal medulla was disappointing. This could be attributed to the pathological process in Parkinson's disease affecting cells of the adrenal medulla. This study was performed to investigate the histopathological changes in the adrenal medulla of AS/AGU rat, a model of Parkinson's disease, in comparison with Albino Swiss (AS) rats.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 24 male AS rats were divided into four groups, each of 6 animals: AS W1 - AS rats aged 1 week; AS adult - AS adult rats; AS/ /AGU W1 - AS/AGU rats aged 1 week; and AS/AGU adult - AS/AGU adult rats. The rats were sacrificed and the adrenal glands were dissected and processed for histological staining with haematoxylin and eosin and periodic acid Schiff and for immunohistochemical staining for S100 protein, ubiquitin and tyrosine hydroxylase.
RESULTS
The histological investigation of the adrenal medulla of AS/AGU rats showed vascular congestion, inflammatory cellular infiltration, pyknotic nuclei, necrotic chromaffin cells and medullary inclusion bodies. The immunohistochemical investigation of AS/AGU rats showed a statistically significant decrease in the expression of S100 protein, ubiquitin and tyrosine hydroxylase compared to AS rats.
CONCLUSIONS
The histological and immunohistological changes in the adrenal medulla could explain the failure of outcome of adrenal autograft therapy in Parkinson's disease.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Parkinson Disease; Rats
PubMed: 27830890
DOI: 10.5603/FM.a2016.0036 -
Reviews in the Neurosciences 1994This paper reviews the literature describing the condition of the adrenal medulla in Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is... (Review)
Review
This paper reviews the literature describing the condition of the adrenal medulla in Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized primarily by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Clinical observations have revealed that Parkinson's disease is also frequently accompanied by a variety of autonomic symptoms. The adrenal medulla is a major component of the autonomic nervous system. However, until recently this organ has not been of particular interest in Parkinson's disease. Early studies found histologic abnormalities in adrenal medullary cells, and several groups measured urinary and plasma catecholamines to determine general autonomic status. In the late 1980s adrenal medullary tissue was first transplanted to the caudate nucleus in an attempt to augment the decreased levels of dopamine, and thus treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. At this time the status of the adrenal medulla in this disease became clinically important. We measured the total catecholamine content of the parkinsonian adrenal medulla in tissue collected both at autopsy and in conjunction with adrenal-caudate transplants. Adrenal medullary catecholamines and several neuropeptides were severely depressed in parkinsonian glands. Thus, the adrenal medulla appears to be a target of the peripheral manifestations of Parkinson's disease.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Humans; Parkinson Disease
PubMed: 7697198
DOI: 10.1515/revneuro.1994.5.4.293 -
Autonomic Neuroscience : Basic &... Jun 2005The adrenal medulla is an important part of the sympathoadrenal system. Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla respond to a broad spectrum of stressful situations by... (Review)
Review
The adrenal medulla is an important part of the sympathoadrenal system. Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla respond to a broad spectrum of stressful situations by releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine. Originally, it was accepted that this response is controlled exclusively by central nervous system structures. However, it was also demonstrated that a surgically denervated adrenal medulla can respond directly by secreting epinephrine and norepinephrine during an imbalance of internal environment (hypoglycemia, asphyxia). Published data had documented the innervation of the adrenal medulla by sensory neurons of spinal dorsal root ganglia. In addition, recent data showed that ganglion cells of the adrenal medulla project ascending axons. These data suggested potential transmission of information from the adrenal medulla to the central nervous system regarding metabolic changes in the blood. This paper presents an overview of possible involvement of adrenal medullary chromaffin cells in the detection of changes in the internal environment and in the transmission of this information to the central nervous system.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Autonomic Nervous System; Humans; Neural Pathways; Synaptic Transmission
PubMed: 15927540
DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2005.04.005 -
Toxicologic Pathology 1989Adult adrenal medullary cells, in many strains of rats, develop diffuse and nodular hyperplasia and neoplasia under a variety of conditions. Both endogenous and... (Review)
Review
Adult adrenal medullary cells, in many strains of rats, develop diffuse and nodular hyperplasia and neoplasia under a variety of conditions. Both endogenous and exogenous factors affect the development of these proliferative changes. The former include the animals' strain, age, and sex. The latter include drugs and other environmental agents, diet, and perhaps stress. Adrenal medullary neoplasms which arise under diverse circumstances often closely resemble each other both morphologically and functionally, and exhibit characteristics of immature chromaffin cells. Recent data indicate that normal, mature-appearing epinephrine- and norepinephrine-type chromaffin cells are able to divide, and suggest that signals which regulate chromaffin cell function also regulate cell proliferation. Prolongation of these signals or superimposed abnormalities might initiate pathological proliferative states. It remains to be determined whether the mechanisms which promote or prevent cell proliferation in the adult adrenal are related to those involved in normal development.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Humans
PubMed: 2675283
DOI: 10.1177/019262338901700209 -
Pflugers Archiv : European Journal of... Jan 2018The chromaffin cells (CCs) of the adrenal medulla play a key role in the control of circulating catecholamines to adapt our body function to stressful conditions. A huge...
The chromaffin cells (CCs) of the adrenal medulla play a key role in the control of circulating catecholamines to adapt our body function to stressful conditions. A huge research effort over the last 35 years has converted these cells into the Escherichia coli of neurobiology. CCs have been the testing bench for the development of patch-clamp and amperometric recording techniques and helped clarify most of the known molecular mechanisms that regulate cell excitability, Ca signals associated with secretion, and the molecular apparatus that regulates vesicle fusion. This special issue provides a state-of-the-art on the many well-known and unsolved questions related to the molecular processes at the basis of CC function. The issue is also the occasion to highlight the seminal work of Antonio G. García (Emeritus Professor at UAM, Madrid) who greatly contributed to the advancement of our present knowledge on CC physiology and pharmacology. All the contributors of the present issue are distinguished scientists who are either staff members, external collaborators, or friends of Prof. García.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Chromaffin Granules; Humans; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 29110079
DOI: 10.1007/s00424-017-2082-z -
Anatomy and Embryology Feb 1997Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and their tumor counterparts, the pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, are well-established model systems in neurobiology. The... (Review)
Review
Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and their tumor counterparts, the pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, are well-established model systems in neurobiology. The development of sympathoadrenal progenitor cells to chromaffin cells can be studied with regard to developmental signals which trigger the differentiation. With regard to potential treatments of neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease chromaffin cell grafting can be used as one therapeutical approach. The beneficial effect of chromaffin cell grafts is possibly not only related to the release of dopamine but may also be linked to the release of growth factors. One of the growth factors that is synthesized by chromaffin and PC12 cells is basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2). The experimental data available so far, are in agreement with different functional roles of FGF-2. This article summarizes the putative physiological functions of FGF-2 in the adrenal medulla. Three differential functional roles of FGF-2 are discussed: (1) as a differentiation factor for sympathoadrenal progenitor cells; (2) as a target-derived neurotrophic factor for preganglionic sympathetic neurons which innervate adrenal medullary cells; (3) as an auto-/paracrine factor in the adrenal medulla.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Cell Differentiation; Chromaffin Cells; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; Humans; Rats; Stem Cells
PubMed: 9045980
DOI: 10.1007/s004290050029 -
Endocrine Development 2011The adrenal gland is formed by the adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex. Both tissues descend from different origins during embryonal development. While the chromaffin... (Review)
Review
The adrenal gland is formed by the adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex. Both tissues descend from different origins during embryonal development. While the chromaffin cells are derived from the neural crest, the adrenocortical cells stem from a cell condensation in the celomic epithelium. Already during adrenal organogenesis, close interactions between the two tissue types are necessary for the differentiation, morphogenesis and survival of the adrenal gland. Moreover, the communication between the chromaffin and adrenocortical cells ensures a regular function of the adult adrenal gland including the regulation of hormone synthesis and responses to stress. This is even more important since the cortical-chromaffin crosstalk is also relevant for the pathogenesis of different diseases. In the past decade, significant progress in the understanding of the cortical-chromaffin communication has been made. Here, we summarize the insights gained from in vitro studies, from animal models and from clinical observations.
Topics: Adrenal Cortex; Adrenal Glands; Adrenal Medulla; Adult; Animals; Cell Communication; Humans; Models, Biological
PubMed: 21164256
DOI: 10.1159/000321211 -
Acta Physiologica Scandinavica Oct 1999The adrenal medulla is composed principally of groups of adrenergic and noradrenergic chromaffin cells, with minor populations of small intensely fluorescent cells and... (Review)
Review
The adrenal medulla is composed principally of groups of adrenergic and noradrenergic chromaffin cells, with minor populations of small intensely fluorescent cells and ganglionic neurones. Different molecular stimuli evoke distinct secretory events in the gland, involving the release of either adrenaline or noradrenaline together with various neuroactive peptides. The nature of the secretory response can be controlled at a central level or regulated locally within the gland. Specific innervation patterns to the different types of chromaffin cell have been implicated in central regulatory mechanisms, while several explanations for regulating secretion locally have been proposed. The differential distribution of various types of receptors between cell phenotypes, such as muscarinic or nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, histamine receptors, angiotensin receptors and different classes of opiate receptors between the two principal chromaffin cell populations could be involved in local control. In addition exocytosis parameters could be modulated differently in adrenergic and noradrenergic cells by phenotype-specific mechanisms, possibly involving molecules like Growth Associated Protein-43, Synaptosomal Associated Protein-25 isoforms or the p11 annexin subunit. The distribution of the various types of calcium channels is also known to vary between chromaffin cell subtypes. This short review examines possible ways in which specific innervation patterns in the adrenal gland could be programmed and discusses exocytosis mechanisms that could differ between chromaffin cell phenotypes. Data reviewed here suggest that the adrenal medulla should no longer be viewed as a homogeneous entity but as consisting of an ensemble of individual cell subpopulations each with a distinct secretory response that could in part reflect its local history.
Topics: Adrenal Medulla; Animals; Chromaffin Cells; Exocytosis; Humans
PubMed: 10571543
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-201x.1999.00580.x