In this review the four different genes of the mammalian plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA) and their spliced isoforms are discussed with respect to their tissue distribution, their differences during development and their importance for regulating Ca²⁺ homeostasis under different conditions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: 13th European Symposium on Calcium.

When developing large-scale mathematical models of physiology, some reduction in complexity is necessarily required to maintain computational efficiency. A prime example of such an intricate cell is the cardiac myocyte. For the predictive power of the cardiomyocyte models, it is vital to accurately describe the calcium transport mechanisms, since they essentially link the electrical activation ...

The plasma membrane Ca(2+) pump is known to mediate Ca(2+)/H(+) exchange. Extracellular protons activated (45)Ca(2+) efflux from human red blood cells with a half-maximal inhibition constant of 2 nM when the intracellular pH was fixed. An increase in pH from 7.2 to 8.2 decreased the IC(50) for extracellular Ca(2+) from approximately 33 to approximately 6 mM. Changing the membrane potential by >...

Arsenite-induced mitotic abnormalities result in mitotic death in several cancer cell lines. However, how arsenite induces these effects is not known. We have previously shown that arsenite induces mitotic arrest, mitotic abnormalities, and mitotic death in CGL-2 cells. To further delineate the mechanism of action of arsenite, we examined its effect on centrosome duplication and the possible li...

background: exposure to arsenic is associated with impairment of male reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress. silymarin with an antioxidant property scavenges free radicals. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effects of sodium arsenite on ram sperm plasma membrane and acrosome integrity. materials and methods: ram epidydimal sper...

background: vitamin e is an effective antioxidant, protecting cells against oxidative stress. objective: in this investigation the protective effect of vitamin e on the testis during development and spermatogenesis in rats exposed to sodium arsenite was evaluated. materials and methods: pregnant wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (n=8) control, sodium arsenite (8 mg/kg/day), sodium arsenite...

The calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) pathway represents a crucial transducer of cellular function. There is increasing evidence placing the sarcolemmal calcium pump, or plasma membrane calcium/calmodulin ATPase pump (PMCA), as a potential modulator of signal transduction pathways. We demonstrate a novel interaction between PMCA and the calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphata...

The plasma membrane calcium ATPases are critical components in the regulation of cellular calcium homeostasis and signaling. In mammals, there are 4 Pmca genes, and information on the cellular and tissue distribution of their expression during development will provide insight into the regulation and possible function of each Pmca isoform. Using specific probes and in situ hybridization, we foun...

In this review the influence of calcium signaling on the regulation of alternative splicing is discussed with respect to its influence on cell- and developmental-specific expression of different isoforms of the plasma membrane calcium pump (PMCA). In a second part the possibility is discussed that due to the interaction of the calcium-binding protein ALG-2 with a spliceosomal regulator of alter...

objective(s) arsenic compounds are potent human carcinogen and produce a variety of stress responses in mammalian cells. recently sodium arsenite has been recommended to be used as anti malignancy drug by american food and drug administration (fda). in this study, we aimed to determine the apoptosis inducing effect of sodium arsenite on rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells exposed in vitro. m...