The cell cycle: a new entry in the field of Ca2+ signaling.
Ca2+ signaling plays a crucial role in virtually all cellular processes, from the origin of new life at fertilization to the end of life when cells die. Both the influx of external Ca2+ through Ca2+-permeable channels and its release from intracellular stores are essential to the signaling function. Intracellular Ca2+ is influenced by mitogenic factors which control the entry and progression of the cell cycle; this is a strong indication for a role of Ca2+ in the control of the cycle, but surprisingly, the possibility of such a role has only been paid scant attention in the literature. Substantial progress has nevertheless been made in recent years in relating Ca2+ and the principal decoder of its information, calmodulin, to the modulation of various cycle steps. The aim of this review is to critically discuss the evidence for a role of Ca2+ in the cell cycle and to discuss Ca2+-dependent pathways regulating cell growth and differentiation.
Laboratory of Cell Signaling, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy. santella@szn.it
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D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans