Calcineurin is a calcium-activated phosphatase to mediate lymphocyte activation and neuron signaling, but its role in inflammatory arthritis remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that calcineurin was highly expressed in the lining layer, infiltrating leukocytes, and endothelial cells of rheumatoid synovium. The basal expression levels of calcineurin were higher in the cultured ...

AIMS Calcium fluctuations and cardiac hypertrophy occur during pregnancy, but the role of the well-studied calcium-activated phosphatase, calcineurin, has not been studied in this setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether calcineurin signalling is required for cardiac remodelling during pregnancy in mice. METHODS AND RESULTS We first examined calcineurin expression in the he...

The calcium-activated phosphatase calcineurin is regulated by a binding cofactor known as modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein (MCIP) in yeast up through mammals. The physiologic function of MCIP remains an area of ongoing investigation, because both positive and negative calcineurin regulatory effects have been reported. Here we disrupted the mcip1 and mcip2 genes in the mouse and provid...

The serine-threonine-specific protein phosphatase calcineurin is a key mediator of various stress responses in fungi. Herein, we characterized functions of the endogenous regulators of calcineurin (RCNs), Rcn1 and Rcn2, in the pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata. Rcn1 exerted both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on calcineurin signaling, but Rcn2 displayed only inhibitory activity. Phenotypic...

Calcineurin, a Ca(2+)/calmodulin-stimulated protein phosphatase, plays a key role in T-cell activation by regulating the activity of NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells), a family of transcription factors required for the synthesis of several cytokine genes. Calcineurin is the target of the immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporin A and FK506 complexed with their cytoplasmic receptors cyclophi...

Calcineurin is a calcium-dependent protein phosphatase that functions in T cell activation. We present evidence that calcineurin functions more generally in calcium-triggered apoptosis in mammalian cells deprived of growth factors. Specifically, expression of epitope-tagged calcineurin A induces rapid cell death upon calcium signaling in the absence of growth factors. We show that this apoptosi...

The Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin plays a crucial role in gene expression in different cell types such as T-lymphocytes, cardiac myocytes, and smooth muscle cells. A possible role for calcineurin in gene expression was recently found in neurons, where calcineurin regulates the expression of several genes involved in Ca(2+) homeostasis. To detect additional genes regulated ...

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a major health problem. Extensive myocardial remodeling increases operative risk and might lead to incomplete reverse with persistent symptoms after aortic replacement (AVR); this makes the optimal timing of AVR clinical challenge. The pathogenesis behind unclear. Central among signaling pathways in heart pro-hypertrophic Ca 2+ -activated calcineurin its downstream...

Gooch, Jennifer L. An emerging role for calcineurin A in the development and function of the kidney. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 290: F769–F776, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00281.2005.—For many years, calcineurin has been a familiar molecule as a target of the immunosuppressive agents cyclosporin A and FK-506. Calcineurin inhibition interferes with T cell signaling by preventing activation of the...