SNAP‐25 is differentially expressed by noradrenergic and adrenergic chromaffin cells

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Abstract
This study examines chromaffin cell expression of the synaptosomal‐associated protein SNAP‐25 in the adrenal medulla by immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry and PCR. Both mRNAs coding for the SNAP‐25 isoforms a and b were detected and SNAP‐25 was found to be present in all chromaffin cells in adult rat adrenal gland sections. It was essentially restricted to a zone close to the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane in the majority of cells, but located extensively throughout the cytoplasm in a chromaffin cell sub‐population, identified by double immunofluorescence labelling to have a noradrenergic phenotype. This differential SNAP‐25 expression may reflect different stages in the phenotypic development of the sympathoadrenal lineage and be related to an additional functional role in noradrenergic chromaffin cells not associated with secretion.