Calcium plays an important role in a wide variety of biological processes. This divalent metal ion can bind to a large number of proteins; by doing so it modifies their biological activity or their stability. Because of its distinct che- cal properties calcium is uniquely suited to act as an on–off switch or as a light dimmer of biological activities. The two books entitled Calcium-Binding Protein Protocols (Volumes I and II) focus on modern experimental analyses and methodologies for the study of calcium-binding proteins. Both extracel- lar and intracellular calcium-binding proteins are discussed in detail. H- ever, proteins involved in calcium handling (e. g. , calcium pumps and calcium channels), fall outside of the scope of these two volumes. Also, calcium-bi- ing proteins involved in bone deposition will not be discussed, as this specific topic has been addressed previously. The focus of these two books is on studies of the calcium-binding proteins and their behavior in vitro and in vivo. The primary emphasis is on protein chemistry and biophysical methods. Many of the methods described will also be applicable to proteins that do not bind calcium. Calcium-Binding Protein Protocols is divided into three main sections. The section entitled Introduction and Reviews provides information on the role of calcium in intracellular secondary messenger activation mechanisms. Mo- over, unique aspects of calcium chemistry and the utilization of calcium in dairy proteins, as well as calcium-binding proteins involved in blood clotting, are addressed.

The idea of Professors Bolis and Gilles to gather together for a 3 days' meeting in the splendid environment of Crans-Montana in Switzerland a limited number of people around the subject of calcium and calcium bind ing proteins seemed at first particularly attractive, and when they asked me to take charge of the scientific organization of the symposium, I accepted with enthusiasm. It rapidly became clear that the major problem would be the selection of the topics, since it was impossible to cover completely and in depth such a broad and dynamic area of research. In our view, one imperative was to associate as intimately as possible the structural and the functional aspects of the areas covered. Apart from one whole day focused on the fascinating roles played by calmodulin in cellular activities, the other sessions were devoted to calmodulin-related calcium binding proteins in muscle and non muscle tissues and to some selected biological systems such as mitochondria, secretory cells or sarcoplasmic reticulum in which calcium also plays a crucial role. The presentations were made by leading investigators in their field. Some of them do not, however, appear in the present volume, for which there are two reasons: first, some of the contributions were somewhat outside the scope of the book; second, three speakers, for valid reasons, simply found no opportunity to write a manuscript in the allotted time.

"This book is primarily written for neuroscientists who will always be interested in the role of calcium in the internal neuronal environment. The objectives are well met. The authors are credible authorities in the field and are the most appropriate to discuss calcium in neuronal development...Through multiple excellent quality pictures, this book shows evidence of the potential roles of calcium in the modulation of development as well as on the determination of programmed cell death. " Review from Doody's Notes

Ca2+ signaling in neurons is characterized by highly restricted and dynamic gradients called Ca2+ waves, spikes, transients and puffs depending upon their corresponding spatial and temporal features. Based on this strict segmentation the Ca2+ ion provides a versatile basis for complex signaling in neuronal subcompartments with a spatial resolution of micro- and nanodomains. The multitude of Ca2+-regulated processes requires specialized downstream processing machinery, translating the Ca2+ signal into alterations of cellular processes. The broad range of different Ca2+-triggered phenomena in neurons, ranging from neurotransmission to gene expression, is reflected by the existence of a multitude of different Ca2+-binding proteins (CaBPs) from which numerous belong to the EF-hand super-family. EF-hand proteins can be subdivided into Ca2+ buffer and Ca2+ sensor proteins. Whereas the first group has a very high affinity for Ca2+, exhibits little conformational change in the Ca2+-bound state and is thought to mainly chelate Ca2+, the second group has a lower affinity for Ca2+ and shows considerable conformational changes upon Ca2+-binding, which usually triggers a target interaction. Neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) proteins and the related Caldendrin/CaBP/Calneuron (nCaBPs) proteins are members of this latter group. They resemble the structure of their common ancestor Calmodulin (CaM) with four EF-hand Ca2+-binding motifs, of which not all are functional. However, despite their structural homology with CaM, NCS as well as nCaBPs are quite diverse in amino acid sequence. It is therefore surprising that relatively few binding partners have been identified that are not CaM targets and this raises the question of the specificity and function of these interactions. In terms of function, binding of NCS and nCaBP has frequently different consequences than binding of CaM, which substantially increases the versatility of the Ca2+ tool kit. The general idea of this special issue is to provide an overview on the function of neuronal EF-hand calcium-binding proteins in health and disease. But we will not just provide a mere collection of articles to stress the function of each protein. The issue will mainly deal with emerging concepts on Ca2+-signaling/buffering mediated by EF-hand Ca2+-binding proteins. This includes questions like features that define the functional role of a EF-hand calcium sensor in neurons, the conditions that make physiological relevance of a given interaction of a CaBP with its target plausible, the emerging synaptic role of these proteins, and mounting evidence for their role in the regulation of protein trafficking. Structural aspects and biophysical studies will be covered. Another aspect will be the role of CaBPs in brain disease states. This aspect includes studies showing that CaBPs are targets of drugs in clinical use, studies showing that expression levels of calcium-binding proteins are frequently altered in brain disease states as well as reports on mutations in EF-hand calcium sensors linked to human disease.

The aim of these two volumes is to provide an up-to-date text about the developments in the field during the last 5 - 10 years. Authors with an outstanding record both as active investigators and as critical reviewers have been selected. The result is an integrated collection of contributions forming a fundamental reference work for undergraduate and graduate students, and for those involved in research and teaching in biochemistry and related subjects. Part II contains 16 papers concerned with protein and peptide hormones and growth factors, their receptors, transducing systems, mechanisms of their release and their biological and biochemical actions.

A wide variety of hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors exert their cellular effects by reacting first with membrane receptors resulting in an increase of intracellular calcium and the cellular response. The calcium signal in the cell is mediated by the high-affinity calcium binding proteins (characterized by the EF-hand structural element), and by the calcium and phospholipid dependent proteins. Many of these have been discovered most recently. Their purification, distribution, protein and gene structures as well as their physiological roles are discussed. The book is of interest to biochemists and molecular biologists as well as to clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry who can apply the results in this field.

Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.