Decoding cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations.
A rise in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration is used as a universal signalling mechanism to control biological processes as diverse as exocytosis, contraction, cell growth and cell death. Ca(2+) signals are often presented to cells in the form of Ca(2+) oscillations, with signalling information encoded in both amplitude and frequency of the Ca(2+) spikes. Recent studies have revealed that the sub-cellular spatial profile of the Ca(2+) oscillation is also important in activating cellular responses, thereby suggesting a new mechanism for extracting information from the ubiquitous Ca(2+) oscillation.
Parekh
Anant B
AB
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Sherrington Building, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PT, UK. anant.parekh@dpag.ox.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000378:metabolism; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans
D015220:Calcium Channels; D002147:Calmodulin; D002118:Calcium