title: Calcium oscillations.
abstract: Calcium signaling results from a complex interplay between activation and inactivation of intracellular and extracellular calcium permeable channels. This complexity is obvious from the pattern of calcium signals observed with modest, physiological concentrations of calcium-mobilizing agonists, which typically present as sequential regenerative discharges of stored calcium, a process referred to as calcium oscillations. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the underlying mechanism of calcium oscillations through the power of mathematical modeling. We also summarize recent findings on the role of calcium entry through store-operated channels in sustaining calcium oscillations and in the mechanism by which calcium oscillations couple to downstream effectors.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Chronobiologie Théorique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dupont
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Combettes
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Putney
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D053496:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D013269:Stochastic Processes
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D053496:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors; D002118:Calcium