Protein kinases, regulated by calcium and calmodulin: their structure, regulation and cellular functions

In this review we summarize and generalize the recent data on structure, regulation and physiological role of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases, or CaM kinases. CaM kinases are the family of structurally homologous enzymes, involved into a variety of Ca(2+)-induced cellular reactions through phosphorylation of target proteins. In recent years the quantity of these enzymes has exceeded twenty, mainly due to identification of new isozymic forms of already known CaM kinases. Using crystal structure analysis data, some researchers constructed molecular models of regulation and functioning of CaM kinases. Many reports of recent years are devoted to investigation of functions of CaM kinase isozymes and their role in various cellular processes.