Calcium signaling

Calcium signaling is cellular communication in which changes in cytosolic calcium-ion concentration regulate processes such as secretion, contraction, and gene expression.

Calcium-induced calcium release: A process in which calcium entering or released inside a cell triggers further calcium release from intracellular stores. It creates regenerative calcium signals, especially in cardiac muscle.
Calcium ion: A positively charged calcium atom, written Ca²⁺, that serves as an intracellular signal and structural ion. Its concentration is the changing quantity at the center of these signals.
Excitation-contraction coupling: The process by which an electrical signal in a muscle cell triggers contraction. Calcium release connects electrical excitation to the contractile machinery.
Cyclic AMP: A small intracellular messenger formed from ATP that regulates enzymes and ion channels. It is another second messenger, but unlike calcium it is a nucleotide rather than an ion.
Inositol trisphosphate receptor: An intracellular calcium channel in the endoplasmic reticulum that opens when it binds inositol trisphosphate. It releases stored calcium in response to signals from cell-surface receptors.
Endoplasmic reticulum: A membrane-bound organelle that synthesizes proteins and lipids and stores calcium in many cells. It acts as a major intracellular reservoir for releasable calcium.
Neurotransmitter release: The discharge of chemical messengers from a neuron into a synapse. Calcium entry at nerve terminals triggers synaptic vesicles to release neurotransmitters.
IP3-DAG pathway: A signaling pathway in which phospholipase C produces inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol from membrane lipids. It often works alongside calcium release, while diacylglycerol activates protein kinase C.
Ryanodine receptor: A calcium-release channel in the membrane of the endoplasmic or sarcoplasmic reticulum. It supplies large calcium pulses in muscle and other excitable cells.
Plasma membrane calcium ATPase: A membrane pump that uses ATP to move calcium ions from the cytosol out of the cell. It helps restore low resting cytosolic calcium after a signal.

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