title: Calcium and apoptosis: facts and hypotheses.
abstract: Although longstanding experimental evidence has associated alterations of calcium homeostasis to cell death, only in the past few years the role of calcium in the signaling of apoptosis has been extensively investigated. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge, focusing on (i) the effect of the proteins of the Bcl-2 family on ER Ca2+ levels, (ii) the action of the proteolytic enzymes of apoptosis on the Ca2+ signaling machinery, (iii) the ensuing alterations on the signaling patterns of extracellular stimuli, and (iv) the intracellular targets of 'apoptotic' Ca2+ signals, with special emphasis on the mitochondria and cytosolic Ca2+-dependent enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine and Center for the Study of Inflammation, University of Ferrara, Italy. r.rizzuto@unife.it
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzuto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinton
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Mounia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chami
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szabadkai
authors.forename: Paulo J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Virgilio
authors.forename: Tullio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pozzan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases / Q000502:physiology; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology; D053499:Plasma Membrane Calcium-Transporting ATPases; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000502:physiology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D010450:Endopeptidases; D053499:Plasma Membrane Calcium-Transporting ATPases; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases; D002118:Calcium