Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Single-Cell Calcium Imaging for Studying the Activation of Calcium Ion Channels
Published on: December 13, 2024
Heterogeneity of Calcium Channel/cAMP-Dependent Transcriptional Activation
1National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, US. kobrinskiev@mail.nih.gov.
Abstract:
The major function of the voltage-gated calcium channels is to provide the Ca(2+) flux into the cell. L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (Cav1) serve as voltage sensors that couple membrane depolarization to many intracellular processes. Electrical activity in excitable cells affects gene expression through signaling pathways involved in the excitation-transcription (E-T) coupling. E-T coupling starts with activation of the Cav1 channel and results in initiation of the cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-dependent transcription. In this review we discuss the new quantitative approaches to measuring E-T signaling events. We describe the use of wavelet transform to detect heterogeneity of transcriptional activation in nuclei. Furthermore, we discuss the properties of discovered microdomains of nuclear signaling associated with the E-T coupling and the basis of the frequency-dependent transcriptional regulation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Cell Specific Gene Expression
Structure of Cadherins
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory...

