Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide regulates [Ca(2+)](i) and electrical activity in pituitary cells through cell type-specific mechanisms.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a recently identified hypothalamic factor that acts on a variety of anterior pituitary cell types. It is clear, however, that its actions are not mediated by the same intracellular signaling mechanisms in each cell type. The signaling pathways by which PACAP regulates changes in [Ca(2+)], and electrical activity in rat somatotrophs and gonadotrophs is described in the present article. Finally, the possibility that the differences in PACAP-regulated signaling in anterior pituitary cells is due to the differential expression and coupling of PACAP receptor subtypes is discussed.
Rawlings
S R
SR
Stephen R. Rawlings is at the Fondation pour Recherches Médicales, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.