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Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels: Structure and Function (CACNA)

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Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules

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Synonyms

L-type; N-type; P/Q-type; R-type; T-type channels

Historical Background

Voltage-gated calcium channels (CaV) are a family of complex proteins that conduct Ca2+ into the cell cytoplasm through a large pore-forming α1 subunit of 190–250 kDa. They are divided into three major families CaV1.x, CaV2.x, and CaV3.x based on sequence homology of the α1 subunit. In turn, each subfamily is comprised of four (CaV1.1–CaV1.4) or three (CaV2.1–2.3; CaV3.1–3.3) members derived from separate genes (Catterall et al. 2005). The α1 subunits are variably associated with β, α2δ, and γ accessory proteins that modulate expression, targeting, voltage dependence, and kinetic characteristics (Fig. 1a) (Catterall et al. 2005; Buraei and Yang 2010). Moreover, splice variants of the α1 subunit can account for tissue-specific behavior. Alternate classification schemes exist. Table 1shows the early nomenclature; L-, P/Q-, N-, R-, and T-type, and its relationship to more modern schemes based on sequence...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 22 S. Greene St., Room N3W143, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Thomas L. Pallone & Chunhua Cao

  2. Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 22 S. Greene St., Room N3W50, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Sandeep Khurana

Authors
  1. Thomas L. Pallone
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  2. Sandeep Khurana
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  3. Chunhua Cao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Thomas L. Pallone , Sandeep Khurana or Chunhua Cao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea

    Sangdun Choi

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Pallone, T.L., Khurana, S., Cao, C. (2018). Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels: Structure and Function (CACNA). In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_145

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