Calcium Handling 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

Calcium ion (Ca²⁺) handling is the central coordinator of excitable cell functions. For neuronal, skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscle, and pancreatic beta cells, transient elevation of intracellular Ca²⁺ triggers molecular machines and produces key cellular responses, such as contraction and secretion. This is mediated through the maintenance of the resting cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration, four orders of magnitude lower than the extracellular space and three orders of magnitude lower than the endoplasmic reticulum or the mitochondria. Upon excitation, these Ca²⁺ stores release Ca²⁺ to the cytosol through ion channels, while during relaxation, ATPase pumps reuptake cytosolic Ca²⁺ to its stores. These channels and pumps are under the control of accessory proteins that modify their function upon extracellular or intracellular signaling. Genetic variations, protein modifications, and expression changes of the molecules involved have been associated with human diseases. Targeting druggable Ca²⁺ handling proteins may serve as therapy for neuronal, skeletal muscle, and cardiac or endocrinal diseases. This issue of IJMS (“Calcium Handling 2.0”) presents novel research and reviews in the field of Ca²⁺ handling proteins’ molecular interplay and regulation in cell physiology and pathophysiology.

Dr. Demetrios A. Arvanitis
Guest Editor

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