Nonselective cation channels in exocrine gland cells

The nonselective cation channel has been described in a wide variety of nonexcitable cells. However even in such closely related tissues as the pancreatic acinar cell and the lacrimal acinar cell, which both possess a superficially similar channel, recent work has shown fundamental differences in channel regulation (Sasaki and Gallacher, 1992; Thorn and Petersen, 1992). These differences are a reflection of a diverse function of the nonselective channel in different tissues.