title: When sparks get old.
abstract: Sparks are transient local elevations of Ca ion concentration observed in different types of muscle cells. Such local Ca2+ signals can be provoked in skeletal muscle cells by altering the osmotic pressure of the extracellular solution. In this issue, Weisleder et al. (see p. 639) demonstrate that the Ca2+ response to osmotic stress is substantially altered in aged muscle. The study presents evidence for a link between this finding and a reduced expression of mitsugumin 29 (MG29), a small membrane protein of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR).
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physiology, University of Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany. werner.melzer@uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Melzer
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D002413:Cations, Divalent; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000378:metabolism; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D012519:Sarcoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D016708:Synaptophysin / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002413:Cations, Divalent; C111842:Mg29 protein, mouse; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D016708:Synaptophysin; D002118:Calcium