Calcium influx and its control by calcium release

Abstract

Changes in the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ are crucial for signal transduction in virtually every cell. In the past year, more of the diversity of receptor-mediated Ca2+ influx mechanisms has been shown, and it has been disclosed that one of the most effective Ca2+ influx pathways, known as 'capacitative Ca2+ entry', occurs via Ca(2+)-selective ion channels in the plasma membrane that are activated following depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Although the exact activation mechanism of capacitative Ca2+ entry still remains a mystery, the identification of plasma membrane currents following store depletion and the characterization of their biophysical properties opens the possibility of unraveling the features and molecular components of the phenomenon of capacitative Ca2+ entry.