title: Calcium and the regulation of cytoskeletal assembly, structure and contractility.
abstract: Calcium plays a central role in the regulation of cytoskeletal assembly, structure and contractility. In the case of actin there are a number of functional classes of actin-binding proteins which confer on a given actin filament its specific function in the cell. Among these various classes of actin-binding proteins are a subset of proteins whose activity is either regulated directly or indirectly (for example, through calmodulin) by Ca2+. This includes the regulation of actin-myosin interaction, actin assembly, actin filament interaction and the formation of supramolecular cytoskeletal networks, and the interaction of actin with membranes. Examples of these various modes of Ca2+-dependent regulation of cytoskeletal structure and contractility are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009218:Myosins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D009218:Myosins; D002118:Calcium