Calcium in biology

Calcium is used in many nerves in the voltage-gated calcium channel which is slightly slower than the voltage-gated potassium channel. It is most notably used in the cardiac action potential.[1]

Calcium ions (Ca2+) contribute to the physiology and biochemistry of organisms' cells. They play an important role in signal transduction pathways,[2][3] where they act as a second messenger, in neurotransmitter release from neurons, in contraction of all muscle cell types, and in fertilization. Many enzymes require calcium ions as a cofactor, including several of the coagulation factors. Extracellular calcium is also important for maintaining the potential difference across excitable cell membranes, as well as proper bone formation.

Plasma calcium levels in mammals are tightly regulated,[2][3] with bone acting as the major mineral storage site. Calcium ions, Ca2+, are released from bone into the bloodstream under controlled conditions. Calcium is transported through the bloodstream as dissolved ions or bound to proteins such as serum albumin. Parathyroid hormone secreted by the parathyroid gland regulates the resorption of Ca2+ from bone, reabsorption in the kidney back into circulation, and increases in the activation of vitamin D3 to calcitriol. Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D3, promotes absorption of calcium from the intestines and bones. Calcitonin secreted from the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland also affects calcium levels by opposing parathyroid hormone; however, its physiological significance in humans is dubious.

Intracellular calcium is stored in organelles which repetitively release and then reaccumulate Ca2+ ions in response to specific cellular events: storage sites include mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum.[4]

Characteristic concentrations of calcium in model organisms are: in E. coli 3 mM (bound), 100 nM (free), in budding yeast 2 mM (bound), in mammalian cell 10–100 nM (free) and in blood plasma 2 mM.[5]

  1. ^ Kléber, André G.; Rudy, Yoram (2004-04-01). "Basic Mechanisms of Cardiac Impulse Propagation and Associated Arrhythmias". Physiological Reviews. 84 (2): 431–488. doi:10.1152/physrev.00025.2003. ISSN 0031-9333. PMID 15044680.
  2. ^ a b Brini, Marisa; Ottolini, Denis; Calì, Tito; Carafoli, Ernesto (2013). "Calcium in Health and Disease". In Astrid Sigel, Helmut Sigel and Roland K. O. Sigel (ed.). Interrelations between Essential Metal Ions and Human Diseases. Metal Ions in Life Sciences. Vol. 13. Springer. pp. 81–137. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7500-8_4. ISBN 978-94-007-7499-5. PMID 24470090.
  3. ^ a b Brini, Marisa; Call, Tito; Ottolini, Denis; Carafoli, Ernesto (2013). "Intracellular Calcium Homeostasis and Signaling". In Banci, Lucia (ed.). Metallomics and the Cell. Metal Ions in Life Sciences. Vol. 12. Springer. pp. 119–68. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5561-1_5. ISBN 978-94-007-5560-4. PMID 23595672. electronic-book ISBN 978-94-007-5561-1 ISSN 1559-0836 electronic-ISSN 1868-0402
  4. ^ Wilson, C.H.; Ali, E.S.; Scrimgeour, N.; Martin, A.M.; Hua, J.; Tallis, G.A.; Rychkov, G.Y.; Barritt, G.J. (2015). "Steatosis inhibits liver cell store-operated Ca(2)(+) entry and reduces ER Ca(2)(+) through a protein kinase C-dependent mechanism". Biochem J. 466 (2): 379–90. doi:10.1042/bj20140881. PMID 25422863.
  5. ^ Milo, Ron; Philips, Rob. "Cell Biology by the Numbers: What are the concentrations of different ions in cells?". book.bionumbers.org. Retrieved 24 March 2017.