Using a chemically defined reconstitution system, we performed a systematic study of key factors in the regulation of the Ca-ATPase by phospholamban (PLB). We varied both the lipid/protein and PLB/Ca-ATPase ratios, determined the effects of PLB phosphorylation, and compared the regulatory effects of several PLB mutants, as a function of Ca concentration. The reconstitution system allowed us to ...

There is strong evidence demonstrating that nifedipine dissolved in ethanol selectively inhibits only Ltype Ca current. In addition, acute ethanol exposure reduces voltage-dependent calcium currents. In the present study, we investigated the antagonistic effect of fixed concentration of nifedipine dissolved in different concentration of ethanol on L-type Ca current. In a Na-K free solution, nif...

BACKGROUND CA 125 assays enable treatment-response monitoring in ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS A multicentric study of CA 125 kinetics under induction chemotherapy was performed in 631 patients. CA 125 half-life was calculated by mono-compartmental logarithmic regression. Nadir CA 125 concentration and time to nadir were also studied. Survival analyses for disease-free survival (DFS) a...

Preserving bioactivity of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) still remains a challenge in protein-based therapy. It is not known how Ca(2+) released from extracellular matrix or existing in physiological environment influences bioactivity in situ till now. Here, effects of extracellular Ca(2+) on conformation and osteogenic bioactivity of recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) were investigated sy...

Activation of cannabinoid receptor type 1 on presynaptic neurons is postulated to suppress neurotransmission by decreasing Ca(2+) influx through high voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. However, recent studies suggest that cannabinoids which activate cannabinoid receptor type 1 can increase neurotransmitter release by enhancing Ca(2+) influx in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate ...

BACKGROUND Hypomagnesemia is one of the characteristic side effects of the human anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, cetuximab and panitumumab. The major mechanism of anti-EGFR antibody-related hypomagnesemia is suppression of EGFR-mediated urinary Mg(2+) reabsorption in both the renal tubule the intestinal tract. Since Mg(2+) is known to affect blood Ca(2+) leve...

In vertebrate olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), odorant-induced activation of the transduction cascade culminates in production of cyclic AMP, which opens cyclic nucleotide-gated channels in the ciliary membrane enabling Ca(2+) influx. The ensuing elevation of the intraciliary Ca(2+) concentration opens Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels, which mediate an excitatory Cl(-) efflux from the cilia. I...

The activation mechanism of the recently cloned human transient receptor potential vanilloid type 6 (TRPV6) channel, originally termed Ca transporterlike protein and Ca transporter type 1, was investigated in whole-cell patch-clamp experiments using transiently transfected human embryonic kidney and rat basophilic leukemia cells. The TRPV6-mediated currents are highly Ca -selective, show a stro...

The activation mechanism of the recently cloned human transient receptor potential vanilloid type 6 (TRPV6) channel, originally termed Ca(2+) transporter-like protein and Ca(2+) transporter type 1, was investigated in whole-cell patch-clamp experiments using transiently transfected human embryonic kidney and rat basophilic leukemia cells. The TRPV6-mediated currents are highly Ca(2+)-selective,...

Yang, Zhi-Wei, Jun Wang, Tao Zheng, Bella T. Altura, and Burton M. Altura. Low [Mg]o induces contraction and [Ca]i rises in cerebral arteries: roles of Ca , PKC, and PI3. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H2898–H2907, 2000.—Removal of extracellular Ca concentration ([Ca]o) and pretreatment of canine basilar arterial rings with either an antagonist of voltage-gated Ca channels (verapamil), a ...