Abstract
Intercellular communication is a universal biological activity without which even the most primitive multicellular animals could not exist, and which, in the course of evolution, has been preceded by the exchange of information among unicellular organisms via the extracellular milieu. This fundamental capacity of cells to receive and respond to signals is the basis of the elaborate integrative mechanisms operating in the most highly developed animals, including man. At this advanced level, communication has become the primary function of two interacting organ systems, the nervous and the endocrine. How did this all-important neuroendocrine apparatus evolve? At which time during the ascent of the mammalian organism did its characteristic and diverse features make their appearance? A comparative approach to the study of this problem reveals that in primitive as well as highly differentiated biological systems signal transmission depends on the propagation of action potentials as well as the dispatch of chemical messengers. Both of these mechanisms seem to have originated very early in evolution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Acher R (1986) Common patterns of neuroendocrine integration in vertebrates and invertebrates. Gen Comp Endocrinol 61: 452–458
Berridge MJ (1985) The molecular basis of communication within the cell. Sci Am 253: 142–152
Bloom FE (ed) (1980) Peptides: Integrators of cell and tissue function. Raven Press, New York
Bodenmüller H, Schaller HC (1981) Conserved amino acid sequence of a neuropeptide, the head activator, from coelenterates to humans. Nature 293: 579–580
Chan-Palay V, Jonsson G, Palay SL (1978) Serotonin and substance P coexist in neurons of the rat’s central nervous system. Proc Natl Acad Sci 75: 1582–1586
Gainer H (ed) (1977) Peptides in neurobiology. Plenum Press, New York, London
Hâkanson R, Thorell J (1985) Biogenetics of neurohormonal peptides. Academic Press, London New York
Hökfelt T, Johansson O, Goldstein M (1984) Chemical anatomy of the brain. Science 225: 1326–1334
Josephson RK (1985) Communication by conducting epithelia. In: Cohen MJ, Strumwasser F (eds) Comparative neurobiology, modes of communication in the nervous system. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 133–148
Karlson P, Lüscher M (1959) “Pheromones”: A new term for a class of biologically active substances. Nature 183:55–56
Karten HJ, Kuljis RO (1985) Lamination and peptidergic systems in the frog optic tectum. In: Cohen MJ, Strumwasser F (eds) Comparative neurobiology, modes of communication in the nervous system. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 213–224
Le Roith D, Delahunty G, Wilson GL, Roberts CT Jr, Shemer J, Hart C, Lesniak MA, Shiloach J, Roth J (1986) Evolutionary aspects of the endocrine and nervous systems. Recent Prog Horm Res 42: 549–587
Lococo DJ, Thompson CS, Tobe SS (1986) Intercellular communication in an insect endocrine gland. J Exp Biol 121: 407–419
Loewenstein WR (1985) Channels in the junctions between cells: formation and permeability. In: Cohen MJ, Strumwasser F (eds) Comparative neurobiology, modes of communication in the nervous system. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 149–167
Mackie GO (1970) Neuroid conduction and the evolution of conducting tissues. Q Rev Biol 45: 319–332
Pearse AGE, Takor Takor T (1979) Embryology of the diffuse neuroendocrine system and its relationship to the common peptides. Fed Proc 38: 2288–2294
Pitts JD, Finbow ME (1986) The gap junction. J Cell Sci Suppl 4: 239–266
Reichlin S (1980) Peptides in neuroendocrine regulation. In: Bloom FE (ed) Peptides: Integrators of cell and tissue function. Raven Press, New York, pp 235–250
Roth J, Le Roith D (1984) Intercellular communication: The evolution of scientific concepts and of messenger molecules. In: Isselbacher KJ (ed) Medicine, science, and society. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 425–447
Schaller HC, Bodenmüller H (1985) Role of the neuropeptide head activator for nerve function and development. Biol Chem Hoppe-Seyler 366: 1003–1007
Scharrer B (1978) Peptidergic neurons: Facts and trends. Gen Comp Endocrinol 34: 50–62
Scharrer B (1985) Neurosecretion: The development of a concept. In: Lofts B, Holmes WN (eds) Current trends in comparative endocrinology, Vol I. Hong Kong University Press, pp 23–27
Scharrer E, Scharrer B (1963) Neuroendocrinology. Columbia University Press, New York
Stefano GB (1986) Conformational matching: A possible evolutionary force in the evolvement of signal systems. In: Stefano GB (ed) Handbook of comparative opioid and related neuropeptide mechanisms, Vol. II. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 271–277
Stefano GB, Scharrer B (1981) High affinity binding of an enkephalin analog in the cerebral ganglion of the insect Leucophaea maderae(Blattaria). Brain Res 225: 107–114
Stefano GB, Scharrer B, Assanah P (1982) Demonstration, characterization and localization of opioid binding sites in the midgut of the insect Leucophaea maderae(Blattaria). Brain Res 253: 205–212
Way EL (ed) (1980) Endogenous and exogenous opiate agonists and antagonists. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Scharrer, B. (1987). Evolution of Intercellular Communication Channels. In: Scharrer, B., Korf, HW., Hartwig, HG. (eds) Functional Morphology of Neuroendocrine Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72886-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72886-0_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-72888-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-72886-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive