The molecular biology of invertebrate voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels.
The importance of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels in cellular function is illustrated by the many distinct types of Ca(2+) currents found in vertebrate tissues, a variety that is generated in part by numerous genes encoding Ca(2+) channel subunits. The degree to which this genetic diversity is shared by invertebrates has only recently become apparent. Cloning of Ca(2+) channel subunits from various invertebrate species, combined with the wealth of information from the Caenorhabditis elegans genome, has clarified the organization and evolution of metazoan Ca(2+) channel genes. Functional studies have employed novel structural information gained from invertebrate Ca(2+) channels to complement ongoing research on mammalian Ca(2+) currents, while demonstrating that the strict correspondence between pharmacological and molecular classes of vertebrate Ca(2+) channels does not fully extend to invertebrate tissues. Molecular structures can now be combined with physiological data to develop a more cogent system of categorizing invertebrate channel subtypes. In this review, we examine recent progress in the characterization of invertebrate Ca(2+) channel genes and its relevance to the diversity of invertebrate Ca(2+) currents.
Jeziorski
M C
MC
Centro de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla 76230, Querétaro, México. jeziorsk@calli.cnb.unam.mx
Greenberg
R M
RM
Anderson
P A
PA
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006801:Humans; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D015640:Ion Channel Gating
D015220:Calcium Channels