Neuroendocrine
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Neuroendocrine [IPA nʊəroʊˈɛndəkrɪn] cells are a specialized group of nerve cells (neurons) that produce hormones. These hormones may be amines, neuropeptides, or specialized amino acids. They package the hormones in vesicles and send these packages via long processes (axons) to blood vessels. When stimulated (by hormones from the blood stream or other neurons) the neuroendocrine cells secrete the hormones into the blood stream. The hormones then travel to their target cells and may stimulate, inhibit or maintain function of these cells. The target cells may feed back information to these neurons that regulates further secretion.
Example
Specialized groups of neuroendocrine cells can be found at the base of the third ventricle in the brain (in a region called the hypothalamus). This area controls most anterior pituitary cells and thereby regulates functions in the entire body, like responses to stress, cold, sleep, and the reproductive system. The neurons send processes to a region connecting to the pituitary stalk and the hormones (called releasing or inhibiting hormones) are released into the blood stream. They are carried by portal vessels to the pituitary cells where they may stimulate, inhibit, or maintain the function of a particular cell type. Many of the projects in the neuroendocrine group focus on the regulatory circuitry in this pathway.
See also
External links
- Neuroendocrine at eMedicine Dictionary
- MeSH Neuroendocrine+System
 | This medical article is a stub. You can help WikiDoc by expanding it. |
Cell signaling | |
|---|---|
| Key concepts | Ligand - Signal transduction - Apoptosis - Second messenger system (Ca2+ signaling, Lipid signaling) |
| Processes | Paracrine - Autocrine - Juxtacrine - Neurotransmitters - Endocrine (Neuroendocrine) |
| Types of proteins | Receptor (Transmembrane, Intracellular) - Transcription factor (General, Preinitiation complex, TFIID, TFIIH) - Adaptor protein |
| receptor ligands | hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines, growth factors |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
