title: RGK regulation of voltage-gated calcium channels.
abstract: Voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) play critical roles in cardiac and skeletal muscle contractions, hormone and neurotransmitter release, as well as slower processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and death. Mutations in VGCCs lead to numerous cardiac, muscle and neurological disease, and their physiological function is tightly regulated by kinases, phosphatases, G-proteins, calmodulin and many other proteins. Fifteen years ago, RGK proteins were discovered as the most potent endogenous regulators of VGCCs. They are a family of monomeric GTPases (Rad, Rem, Rem2, and Gem/Kir), in the superfamily of Ras GTPases, and they have two known functions: regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics including dendritic arborization and inhibition of VGCCs. Here we review the mechanisms and molecular determinants of RGK-mediated VGCC inhibition, the physiological impact of this inhibition, and recent evidence linking the two known RGK functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Pace University, New York, NY, 10038, USA, zburaei@pace.edu.
authors.forename: Zafir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Buraei
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lumen
authors.forename: Sukhjinder
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases