title: Membrane associated Ca2+ buffers in the heart.
abstract: Ca2+ is a universal signalling molecule that affects a variety of cellular processes including cardiac development. The majority of intracellular Ca2+ is stored in the endoplasmic and sarcoplasmic reticulum of muscle and non-muscle cells. Calreticulin is a well studied Ca2+-buffering protein in the endoplasmic reticulum, and calreticulin deficiency is embryonic lethal due to impaired cardiac development. Despite calsequestrin being the most abundant Ca2+-buffering protein in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, viability is maintained in embryos without calsequestrin and normal Ca2+ release and contractile function is observed. The Ca2+ homeostasis regulated by the endoplasmic and sarcoplasmic reticulum is critical for the development and proper function of the heart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, School of Molecular and Systems Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G2H7.
authors.forename: Dukgyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michalak
mesh_terms: D002021:Buffers; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D037282:Calreticulin / Q000378:metabolism; D002155:Calsequestrin / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012519:Sarcoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers; D037282:Calreticulin; D002155:Calsequestrin; D002118:Calcium