A melanotroph (or melanotrope) is a cell in the
pituitary gland
The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...
that generates
melanocyte-stimulating hormone
The melanocyte-stimulating hormones, known collectively as MSH, also known as melanotropins or intermedins, are a family of peptide hormones and neuropeptides consisting of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), β-melanocyte-stimulating ...
(α‐MSH) from its precursor
pro-opiomelanocortin
Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is a precursor polypeptide with 241 amino acid residues. POMC is Protein biosynthesis, synthesized in Corticotropic cell, corticotrophs of the anterior pituitary from the 267-amino-acid-long Precursor polypeptide, pol ...
. Chronic stress can induce the secretion of α‐MSH in melanotrophs and lead to their subsequent degeneration.
See also
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Chromophobe cell
A chromophobe cell is a cell that does not stain readily, and thus appears relatively pale under the microscope. It is contrasted with a chromophil cell that does stain easily.
Chromophobe cells are one of three cell stain types present in the ...
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Chromophil
A chromophil is a cell which is easily stainable by absorbing chromium salts used in histology to increase the visual contrast of samples for microscopy.
Function
Chromophil cells are mostly hormone-producing cells containing so-called chromaffin ...
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Acidophil cell
In the anterior pituitary, the term "acidophil" is used to describe two different types of cells which stain well with acidic dyes.
* somatotrophs, which secrete growth hormone (a peptide hormone)
* lactotrophs, which secrete prolactin (a peptid ...
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Basophil cell
An anterior pituitary basophil is a type of cell in the anterior pituitary which manufactures hormones.
It is called a basophil because it is basophilic (readily takes up bases), and typically stains a relatively deep blue or purple.
These bas ...
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Oxyphil cell
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Oxyphil cell (parathyroid)
Parathyroid oxyphil cells, also named oncocytes, are one out of the two types of cells found in the parathyroid gland, the other being parathyroid chief cell. Oxyphil cells are only found in a select few number of species and humans are one of the ...
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Pituitary gland
The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...
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Neuroendocrine cell
Neuroendocrine cells are cells that receive neuronal input (through neurotransmitters released by nerve cells or neurosecretory cells) and, as a consequence of this input, release messenger molecules (hormones) into the blood. In this way they bri ...
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List of distinct cell types in the adult human body
The list of human cell types provides an enumeration and description of the various specialized cells found within the human body, highlighting their distinct functions, characteristics, and contributions to overall physiological processes. Cell ...
References
Endocrine system
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