Calcium-binding protein
Encyclopedia
Calcium-binding proteins are protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

s that participate in calcium cell signalling pathways
Calcium signaling
Calcium is a common signaling mechanism, as once it enters the cytoplasm it exerts allosteric regulatory effects on many enzymes and proteins...

 by binding to Ca2+.

The most ubiquitous Ca2+-sensing protein, found in all eukaryotic organisms including yeasts, is calmodulin
Calmodulin
Calmodulin is a calcium-binding protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells...

.

Intracellular storage and release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum is associated with the high-capacity, low-affinity calcium-binding protein calsequestrin
Calsequestrin
Calsequestrin is a calcium-binding protein of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The protein helps hold calcium in the cisterna of the sarcoplasmic reticulum after a muscle contraction, even though the concentration of calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum is much higher than in the cytosol. It also...

.

With their role in signal transduction, calcium-binding proteins contribute to all aspects of the cell's functioning, from homeostasis to learning and memory.

For example, the neuron-specific calexcitin
Calexcitin
Calexcitin is a Calcium-binding protein first isolated in the sea snail Hermissenda crassicornis, upregulated following Pavlovian conditioning....

 has been found to have an excitatory effect on neuron
Neuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s, and interacts with proteins that control the firing state of neurons, such as the voltage-dependent potassium channel.

See also

  • Vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein
    Vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein
    Vitamin D-dependent calcium binding proteins were discovered in the cytosolic fractions of chicken intestine, and later in mammalian intestine and kidney, by workers including Robert Wasserman of Cornell University....

  • Wikipedia:MeSH D12.776#MeSH D12.776.157.125 --- calcium-binding proteins

External links

  • Note: calcium-binding proteins have now been seen in the dietary supplement market such as Apoaequorin (Prevagen). There is no evidence that such proteins are bioavailable following oral supplementation in humans.
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