Unraveling the secrets of a double life: contractile versus signaling Ca2+ in a cardiac myocyte

J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2012 Feb;52(2):317-22. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2011.05.001. Epub 2011 May 11.

Abstract

No other inorganic molecule known in biology is considered as versatile as Ca(2+). In a vast majority of cell types, Ca(2+) acts as a universal second messenger underlying critical cellular processes varying from gene transcription to cell death. Although the role of Ca(2+) in myocyte contraction has been known for over a century, it was only more recently that this divalent cation has been implicated in mediating reactive signal transduction to promote cardiac hypertrophy. However, it remains unclear how Ca(2+)-dependent signaling pathways are regulated/activated in a cardiac myocyte given the prevailing conditions throughout the cytosol where Ca(2+) concentration oscillates between 100 nM and upwards of 1-2 μM during each contractile cycle. In this review we will examine three hypotheses put forward to explain how Ca(2+) might still function as a hypertrophic signaling molecule in cardiac myocytes and discuss the current literature that supports each of these views. This article is part of a special issue entitled "Local Signaling in Myocytes."

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Calcium / metabolism*
  • Calcium Signaling / physiology*
  • Cardiomegaly / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Myocardial Contraction / physiology*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / metabolism*

Substances

  • Calcium