Proposed designation for a group of cells in different organs secreting polypeptide hormones. 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.
Origin
[amine precursor uptake, decarboxylase]