Stanko Stamen Stojilkovic, Ph.D.

Signaling and Secretion in Neuroendocrine Cells

The Section was formed in 1993 to investigate cascades of cell signaling, gene expression, and secretion in hypothalamic and pituitary cells, with a particular emphasis on the interactions between electrical events at the plasma membrane and receptor-controlled pathways. Specifically, we are concerned with how these neuroendocrine cells use ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) as signaling platforms for efficient information processing. To this end, we characterize both native and recombinant receptors and channels from neuroendocrine cells. In the past, our work has focused on the role of inositol-trisphosphate receptors in the oscillatory calcium release and influx, the mechanism of periodic activation of these channels, and the complex way in which calcium release from intracellular stores is synchronized with the electrical activity of the cells. We have also characterized voltage-gated channels expressed in neuroendocrine cells, the cell-type-specific electrical activity patterns and channels involved, the physiological significance of such activity, and the crosstalk between GPCRs and ion channels. More recently, we have characterized ligand-gated receptor channels expressed in pituitary cells, including ATP-dependent P2X receptor channels. Our current work focuses on age-, sex-, and tissue-specific pituitary signaling, transcription, and secretion, the heterogeneity of pituitary secretory cells reflecting their postnatal genesis, and cell-type-specific exocytic pathways. Ongoing and proposed projects include the use of conditional knockout mouse models. Results already obtained in these projects and those from other studies have revealed the great complexity and physiological significance of the intracellular signaling system in the pituitary and the need for further research. The information we are currently receiving, and the planned research should continue to be useful to researchers and clinicians in the neuroendocrine field, as well as the broader scientific community.

Dr. Stanko Stojilkovic received a Ph.D. in Physiology and Neuroendocrinology from the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, in 1982. He was Assistant Professor of Physiology at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, before joining NICHD as a Guest Researcher in 1985, where he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Kevin J. Catt. Dr. Stojilkovic became an Investigator in 1993, leading the Section on Cellular Signaling, and then Senior Investigator in 1998, both within the Endocrinology and Reproduction Research Branch of NICHD. His work has earned the group recognition, which is reflected in 300 publications, including several review articles and chapters in university textbooks, and approximately 100 seminar and conference invitations. Dr. Stojilkovic is member of the Endocrine Society, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Neuroendocrine Society, and Society for Neuroscience. He has also been inducted into the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2003) and has received a Doctor Honoris Causa (2010) from the University of Novi Sad. He is/was on Editorial Boards of eight journals, including Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and acts as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Endocrinology.