The definitive text on the key component for cell functions—intracellular calcium This comprehensive book reveals the evidence for intracellular calcium as a universal switch in all animal, plant, fungal and microbial cells. It shows how the components required for calcium signaling are named and classified; covers the technology that has been developed to study intracellular calcium; describes how calcium is regulated inside cells and how it works to trigger an event; explains the role of intracellular calcium in disease, cell injury, and cell death; reveals how many drugs work through the calcium signaling system; and demonstrates how intracellular calcium is involved in the action of many natural toxins. The book also illustrates how the intracellular calcium signaling system has evolved over millions of years, showing why it was crucial to the origin of life. Additionally, the book promotes the importance of the molecular variation upon which the intracellular calcium signalling system depends. Featuring more than 100 figures (including detailed chemical structures as well as pictures of key pioneers in the field), a bibliography of some 1000 references, and a detailed subject index, this definitive work provides a unique source of scholarship for teachers and researchers in the biomedical sciences and beyond. Emphasizes two key scientific principles—the first to show how intracellular Ca2+ acts as a switch, to activate a wide range of cellular events, and the second demonstrating how an analogue mechanism can be superimposed on such a process Written by an internationally recognized expert in the field Filled with images and references to facilitate learning Fundamentals of Intracellular Calcium is an all-important text for post-graduate students and researchers working in biomedicine and biochemistry. It is also essential for undergraduate lecturers and their students in physiology, medicine, pharmacy, and the biosciences.

The crucial role played by calcium as a cellular messenger has become increasingly evident, as has the recognition that cells spend much energy in maintaining the cytosolic concentration of this cation both constant and low. It is thought they do this to avoid precipitating phosphate, needed as a source of bond energy and to modulate protein structure. Moreover, since calcium that does enter the cell must be disposed with, processes that utilize calcium have evolved, e.g. secretion, contraction, signaling, to name just some. New knowledge concerning the processes of cellular calcium entry, extrusion and the fate of intracellular calcium has accumulated in recent years. Much has also been learned about calcium transport by and across epithelial cells. It seems logical to think that the processes of calcium entry, extrusion and intracellular handling are similar in all cells. We have therefore assembled in one volume overviews and research reports of transport and cellular calcium regulation so as to explore similarities and differences between cells that utilize calcium for metabolic purposes and those whose primary function is transport.

Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Calmodulin. The editors have built Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Calmodulin in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyBrief™ that delivers timely, authoritative, comprehensive, and specialized information about Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins in a concise format. The editors have built Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Intracellular Calcium-Sensing Proteins—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Did you know that one single enzyme impacts your odds of contracting most deadly diseases and health conditions? An enormous body of reputable research into this enzyme has been isolated, ignored, and misunderstood by medical experts. The importance of this enzyme simply cannot be overstated. The Calcium Connection: The Little-Known Enzyme at the Root of Your Cellular Health delivers a clear explanation of this enzyme’s function and outlines the steps you can take to gain optimal enzyme health. The accessible, information-packed format teaches you all about Calcium ATPase: how it works, what happens when it goes awry, and easy, practical methods to bring it back into balance and protect it—and your overall health. Whether you’re a health enthusiast, environmentalist, parent, or just want to be better informed, this book will help you boost your health now and into the future. Brunde Broady recounts her tireless quest to find a cure for her son Knute’s compromised health since being whisked away and kept in ICU after birth. The medical establishment could only help manage his condition, but not diagnose or cure him. Doing her own research and documenting everything Knute ate and his reactions to certain foods, she came across two ubiquitous food additives. Diving deeper, she learned how Calcium ATPase, a fundamental regulator of intercellular calcium, is negatively impacted, not only by these additives, but by a torrent of other inhibitors. Knute’s health is a testament to Brunde’s discoveries, and The Calcium Connection gives readers a front-row seat to understanding how to maintain optimized cellular health.

Calcium signaling contains a unique selection of chapters that cover a wide range of contemporary topics in this ubiquitous and diverse system of cell signaling. This book has the flavor of a primary text book, but it is much more than that. It covers topics ranging from the fundamental aspects of calcium signaling to its clinical implications, in a thoughtful and comprehensive way. It discusses cutting edge researches, and critical issues at depth, and it presents many testable hypotheses for future research. It includes the theoretical and the methodological topics as well as topics related to mathematical modeling, and simulations. If you want to read about calcium signaling in different mammalian cells, oocytes, Zebrafishes, and even in plants, in one and the same book, then this book will not disappoint you. From the beginners to the experts in the field of calcium signaling, everybody will find something useful in this very timely book.

Calcium is vital for human physiology; it mediates multiple signaling cascades, critical for cell survival, differentiation, or death both as first and as second messenger. The role of calcium as first messenger is mediated by the G-protein coupled receptor, the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR). The CaSR is a multifaceted molecule that senses changes in the concentration of a wide variety of environmental factors including di- and trivalent cations, amino acids, polyamines, and pH. In calcitropic tissues with obvious roles in calcium homeostasis such as parathyroid, kidney, and bone it regulates circulating calcium concentrations. The germline mutations of the CaSR cause parathyroid disorders demonstrating the importance of the CaSR for the maintenance of serum calcium homeostasis. The CaSR has an important role also in a range of non-calcitropic tissues, such as the intestine, lungs, central and peripheral nervous system, breast, skin and reproductive system, where it regulates molecular and cellular processes such as gene expression, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis; as well as regulating hormone secretion and lactation. This Research Topic is an overview of the CaSR and its molecular signaling properties together with the various organ systems where it plays an important role. The articles highlight the current knowledge regarding many aspects of the calcitropic and non-calcitropic physiology and pathophysiology of the CaSR.

Here is the first effort in a single volume to cover all of the integrative functions of calcium signalling - how changes in intracellular calcium coordinate a variety of coherent cellular responses. Written by a team of internationally established researchers, Integrative Aspects of Calcium Signalling provides the latest experimental data and concepts, bringing together a detailed analysis of the events, processes, and functions regulated by calcium signalling. A unique resource for professionals and students of physiology, biophysics, neurobiology, biochemistry, and all related fields.

A widespread appreciation for the role that calcium plays in cell physiology and patho physiology has now been achieved due to the pioneering studies of many of the scientists who attended the VIIth International Spring Symposium on Health Sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D. C. The participants in this unique meeting rep resented diverse fields of basic and clinical research, such as molecular physiology, oncology, molecular genetics, cardiology, bioenergetics, pathology, and endocrinology. The content of the proceedings of the symposium represents work in these and other areas of biomedical research. Organization of the book is aimed at striking a balance between the biochemistry 2 and physiology of normal cell Ca + metabolism and the pathological consequences of al 2 terations in cell Ca + homeostasis. The first section of the book is devoted to the transport mechanisms responsible for 2 2 regulating intracellular Ca + and the pharmacological modalities for controlling cell Ca + . Particular attention is given to the molecular basis for plasma membrane transport activities, 2 2 including the ATP-driven Ca + pump, the Na + -Ca + exchange system, and voltage sensitive 2 Ca + channels. The second section covers the exciting relationships between phosphoinositide metab 2 olism, signal transduction, and cell Ca + metabolism. This section begins with an eloquent overview by Professor Michael Berridge, who was the keynote speaker at the symposium and the recipient of the scientific merit award.

A Practical Guide to the Study of Calcium in Living Cells describes popular techniques along with helpful do's and don't's and computer programs. The volume enables investigators to evaluate confocal images, use the latest dyes, and design Calcium buffers appropriate to their research needs. This book is designed for laboratory use by graduate students, technicians, and researchers in many disciplines, ranging from molecular to cellular levels of investigation. Describes techniques for detection of [Ca2+]I: Ca2+ - sensitive microelectrodes Fluorescent dyes Luminescent proteins Includes techniques for perturbing intracellular Ca2+ Covers detailed methodology plus problems and pitfalls of each technique Contains a practical guide to preparing Ca2+ buffers with an easy-to-use computer program Color plates illustrate techniques such as Confocal ratio-imaging Use of aequorin