Role of calcium signals in early development.
The mammalian egg appears to transduce the duration, amplitude, and temporal presentation of the increase in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) upon fertilization. These Ca(2+) parameters have important short-term effects on the initiation and completion of early events of egg activation, as well as much later consequences for the extent of peri-implantation development. Recent studies have begun to shed light on how the egg quantitatively interprets the Ca(2+) signal (e.g., by summation of individual Ca(2+) rises) and the mechanisms by which down-stream Ca(2+) effectors, such as Ca(2+)/Calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), utilize this ionic signal to promote biological events that initiate development.
Ducibella
Tom
T
Department of OB/GYN, Tufts-New England Medical Center & Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Box 36, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. tducibella@tufts-nemc.org
Schultz
Richard M
RM
Ozil
Jean-Pierre
JP
D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D002453:Cell Cycle; D005306:Fertilization; D008954:Models, Biological; D010063:Ovum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*