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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Methods for Cell-attached Capacitance Measurements in Mouse Adrenal Chromaffin Cell
Published on: October 22, 2014
Rapid fluctuations in transmitter release from single vesicles in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells
1Department of Physiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA. zzhou@orion.it.luc.edu
Abstract:
Single-vesicle release of catecholamines from chromaffin cells can be detected in real time as current spikes by the electrochemical method of amperometry. About 70% of spikes are preceded by a small "foot," the trickle of transmitter out of the early fusion pore. In addition, 20-50% of foot signals exhibit rapid fluctuations that we interpret as flickering of the fusion pore. There are also "stand-alone" foot signals, which may reflect transient fusions, in which the vesicles do not collapse completely into the plasma membrane. The number and frequency of the foot flickering are affected by intracellular Ca2+ concentration.
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