Proposed designation for a group of cells in different organs secreting polypeptide hormones or neurotransmitters. Cells in this group have certain biochemical characteristics in common, the first letters of which form the name: they contain amines, such as catecholamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine, take up precursors of these amines in vivo, and contain amino-acid decarboxylase. [amine precursor uptake, decarboxylase]
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amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation
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[amine precursor uptake (and) decarboxylation] see under cell.Medical dictionary. 2011.