Calcium waves.
Intracellular Ca2+ oscillations and waves are commonly observed both in excitable cells, including neurons, and in non-excitable cells. Current attempts to describe and explain these complex intracellular signals suggest that the oscillations are the result of a highly regulated mechanism, the details of which vary among different cells. Recently, the Xenopus oocyte has become an important model system in which a single pool of IP3 receptors release Ca2+ to initiate waves. The intrinsic bell-shaped dependence of the IP3 receptor on Ca2+ is sufficient to explain the regenerative wave phenomenon.
Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905.
J
J
Amundson
D
D
Clapham
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014981:Xenopus
D015220:Calcium Channels; D002118:Calcium