title: Responses of Ca2+-binding proteins to localized, transient changes in intracellular [Ca2+].
abstract: In smooth muscle cells, various transient, localized [Ca(2+)] changes have been observed that are thought to regulate cell function without necessarily inducing contraction. Although a great deal of effort has been put into detecting these transients and elucidating the mechanisms involved in their generation, the extent to which these transient Ca(2+) signals interact with intracellular Ca(2+)-binding molecules remains relatively unknown. To understand how the spatial and temporal characteristics of an intracellular Ca(2+) signal influence its interaction with Ca(2+)-binding proteins, mathematical models of Ca(2+) diffusion and regulation in smooth muscle cells were used to study Ca(2+) binding to prototypical proteins with one or two Ca(2+)-binding sites. Simulations with the models: (1) demonstrate the extent to which the rate constants for Ca(2+)-binding to proteins and the spatial and temporal characteristics of different Ca(2+) transients influence the magnitude and time course of the responses of these proteins to the transients; (2) predict significant differences in the responses of proteins with one or two Ca(2+)-binding sites to individual Ca(2+) transients and to trains of transients; (3) demonstrate how the kinetic characteristics determine the fidelity with which the responses of Ca(2+)-sensitive molecules reflect the magnitude and time course of transient Ca(2+) signals. Overall, this work demonstrates the clear need for complete information about the kinetics of Ca(2+) binding for determining how well Ca(2+)-binding molecules respond to different types of Ca(2+) signals. These results have important implications when considering the possible modulation of Ca(2+)- and Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent proteins by localized intracellular Ca(2+) transients in smooth muscle cells and, more generally, in other cell types.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1. kargacin@ucalgary.ca
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kargacin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D004058:Diffusion; D008954:Models, Biological; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002118:Calcium