Overview of voltage-dependent calcium channels.
Voltage-dependent calcium channels couple electrical signals to cellular responses in excitable cells. Calcium channels are crucial for excitation-secretion coupling in neurons and endocrine cells, and excitation-contraction coupling in muscle. Several pharmacologically and kinetically distinct calcium channel types have been identified at the electrophysiological and molecular levels. This review summarizes the basic properties of voltage-dependent calcium channels, including mechanisms of ion permeation and block, gating kinetics, and modulation by G proteins and second messengers.
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
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Jones
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008958:Models, Molecular; D005810:Multigene Family; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation
D015220:Calcium Channels; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D002118:Calcium