Inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate as a second messenger--a special role in neurones?

Abstract

There has been much controversy over the possibility that inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) may have a second messenger function. A possible resolution to this controversy may stem from the recent cloning of two putative receptors for InsP4, GAP1IP4BP and GAP1m. Both these proteins are expressed at high levels in neurones, as is inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase, the enzyme that makes InsP4. In this review we discuss the possible relevance of these high expression levels to the complex way in which neurones control Ca2+ and use it as a second messenger.