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Related Concept Videos

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration01:27

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Roles of Electrolytes: Calcium and Phosphate01:27

Roles of Electrolytes: Calcium and Phosphate

Calcium and phosphate are essential electrolytes in the human body, with calcium being the most abundant mineral. Around 99% of the body's calcium is stored in the skeleton and teeth, forming a crystal lattice of mineral salts in combination with phosphates. Calcium plays crucial roles in various bodily functions such as blood clotting, neurotransmitter release, muscle tone maintenance, and nervous and muscle tissue excitability.
The calcium concentration in blood plasma is primarily regulated...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling01:16

Calmodulin-dependent Signaling

Calmodulin (CaM) is a calcium-binding protein in eukaryotes that controls various calcium-regulated cellular processes. It has four calcium-binding sites that bind calcium to form the calcium-calmodulin ( Ca2+-CaM) complex. GPCR stimulation increases the calcium levels in the cells that bind to CaM and induces a conformational change.
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Skeleton and Calcium Homeostasis01:21

Skeleton and Calcium Homeostasis

Calcium is not only the most abundant mineral in bone but also the most abundant mineral in the human body. Calcium ions are needed for bone mineralization, tooth health, heart rate regulation and strength of contraction, blood coagulation, the contraction of smooth and skeletal muscle cells, and the regulation of nerve impulse conduction. The average calcium level in the blood is about 10 mg/dL. When the body cannot maintain this level, a person will experience hypo or hypercalcemia.
Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...

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Assessment of Calcium Sparks in Intact Skeletal Muscle Fibers
11:22

Assessment of Calcium Sparks in Intact Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Published on: February 24, 2014

Calcium sparks.

Heping Cheng1, W J Lederer

  • 1Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Peking University, Beijing, China. chengp@pku.edu.cn

Physiological Reviews
|October 17, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Calcium (Ca2+) sparks, a digital signaling system, work with global signals to control cell functions. Understanding these sparks reveals insights into diseases like hypertension and heart failure.

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Area of Science:

  • Cellular Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Calcium ion (Ca2+) is a key intracellular messenger.
  • Ca2+ signaling involves both global (analog) and localized (digital) events.
  • Ca2+ sparks are elementary signaling events with significant biological roles.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the mechanisms and significance of Ca2+ sparks.
  • To explore the challenges in understanding Ca2+ release units (CRUs).
  • To highlight the role of Ca2+ sparks in various physiological and pathological processes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of theoretical and practical aspects of Ca2+ spark formation and detection.
  • Analysis of evidence linking Ca2+ sparks to cellular processes.
  • Investigation of Ca2+ sparks in disease contexts.

Main Results:

  • Ca2+ sparks are crucial for excitation-contraction coupling, vascular tone, membrane excitability, and neuronal secretion.
  • Challenges remain in fully elucidating CRU mechanisms in situ.
  • Ca2+ spark research offers insights into hypertension, arrhythmias, heart failure, and muscular dystrophy.

Conclusions:

  • The digital Ca2+ signaling subsystem, via sparks, provides spatial, temporal, and intensity control.
  • Ca2+ sparks contribute to signaling efficiency, stability, specificity, and diversity.
  • Advances in 'sparkology' unify the understanding of Ca2+ signaling complexity.