title: Intracellular calcium-binding proteins: more sites than insights.
abstract: Calcium ions as biological regulators exert their effects in part via interaction with a wide variety of intracellular calcium-binding proteins. One class of these proteins shares a common calcium-binding motif, the EF-hand. A consensus amino acid sequence for this motif has aided the identification of new members of this family of EF-hand proteins, which now has about 170 members. A few of these proteins are present in all cells, whereas the vast majority are expressed in a tissue-specific fashion. The physiological function of a few of these proteins is known to be achieved via a calcium-dependent interaction with other proteins, thereby regulating their activity. The elucidation of the interactions and functions of the majority of these proteins remains a challenging task for the coming years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Heizmann
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hunziker
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins