Quantal secretion from adrenal medulla: all-or-none release of storage vesicle content.

Neurogenic secretion of catecholamines from the adrenal medulla in rabbits, induced by administration of insulin, caused decreases in both the dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and the catecholamine content of the storage vesicle fraction. After sedimentation through a sucrose density gradient, the storage vesicles obtained from insulin-treated animals had the same density and the same ratio of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase to catecholamine as did vesicles from untreated animals. These and other data indicate that neurogenic secretion from the adrenal medulla occurs by an all-or-none release from the storage vesicles.