Destabilization of actin filaments as a requirement for the secretion of catecholamines from permeabilized chromaffin cells.

In the search for a functional role of cytoskeletal proteins in the mechanism(s) of stimulus-secretion coupling, we have previously demonstrated that the actomyosin system might be involved in the transport of cations across the plasma membrane of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells [(1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 5745-5750]. To establish whether actin and myosin might also be involved in later stages of the cellular response, we have examined the possible effects of various actin-specific reagents on the calcium-mediated secretion of catecholamines from digitonin-permeabilized cells. F-Actin-destabilizing agents, such as cytochalasin D or DNase 1, were found to promote Ca2+-stimulated (as well as basal) secretion. By contrast, stabilizers, like phalloidin, produced the opposite effect. It is concluded that stimulus-secretion coupling in chromaffin cells might require the reorganization of actin for modulating both ion transport across the plasma membrane and exocytotic secretion per se.