Calcium Signalling And Disease

Authors highlight several promising discoveries in the field of calcium signaling that provide new information about both genetic and acquired pathologies. Their discussions will give you new insights into the underlying causes of congenital and acquired diseases and point the way to new, even more promising research and therapies.

This book focuses on disorders of calcium channels and the use of drugs to treat calcium-related disorders and their associated toxicities. In particular, it discusses the role of various natural products and their attributes in preventing problems associated with calcium imbalances. In addition, the book analyzes trends in the processing of natural products using nanotechnology and their implications in calcium-related disorders. Lastly, it explores some of the most promising aspects of research into calcium signalling disorders – which is especially important, given the wide variety of cellular processes that are controlled by calcium ions – and provides a trustworthy source of up-to-date information in this area of research.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most well-known neurodegenerative disorder, causing dementia. In recent decades, several studies have reported calcium dysregulation in AD occurring through the intervention of several calcium receptors and channels, and affecting different cellular compartments, such as mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, and microdomains within the plasma membrane. Calcium signalling dysregulation is now considered a common proximal cause of dysfunctional neurons and glial supporting cells. This book gathers the newest results and advances in calcium signaling deregulation mechanisms in AD, how they are linked to other players involved in AD, and the potential therapies targeting calcium alterations to treat AD.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Calcium Signaling in Human Health and Diseases" that was published in IJMS

MILS-13 provides an up-to-date review on the relationships between essential metals and human diseases, covering 13 metals and 3 metalloids: The bulk metals sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, plus the trace elements manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, molybdenum, and selenium, all of which are essential for life. Also covered are chromium, vanadium, nickel, silicon, and arsenic, which have been proposed as being essential for humans in the 2nd half of the last century. However, if at all, they are needed only in ultra-trace amounts, and because of their prevalence in the environment, it has been difficult to prove whether or not they are required. In any case, all these elements are toxic in higher concentrations and therefore, transport and cellular concentrations of at least the essential ones, are tightly controlled; hence, their homeostasis and role for life, including deficiency or overload, and their links to illnesses, including cancer and neurological disorders, are thoroughly discussed. Indeed, it is an old wisdom that metals are indispensable for life. Therefore, Volume 13 provides in an authoritative and timely manner in 16 stimulating chapters, written by 29 internationally recognized experts from 7 nations, and supported by more than 2750 references, and over 20 tables and 80 illustrations, many in color, a most up-to-date view on the vibrant research area of the Interrelations between Essential Metal Ions and Human Diseases.

Calcium signalling occupies a preeminent position in the signal transduction system of the cell by virtue of its participation in a wide range of physiological functions together with the biological events associated with genetic expression, cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as cell differentiation and morphogenesis. It is an important feature of cell adhesion and motility; the integrity of the calcium binding proteins themselves is a basic requirement of normal biological function. In fact, the deregulation of calcium signaling is now regarded as the primary event in the pathogenesis, growth, invasion, and secondary spread of cancer. Calcium Signalling in Cancer is a concise up-to-date treatise on the transduction signals induced by calcium that considers how alterations in this calcium-dependent signal transduction pathway are related to a number of human diseases, especially neoplastic transformation. This authoritative text examines a broad range of topics-from mechanisms and significance of calcium homeostasis for normal cell function to calcium signalling pathways and the transduction of the calcium signal, especially in proliferation, cell motility, cancer invasion,, and metastasis. Clearly organized, it covers all aspects of the subject including specific sections on the regulation of the genes whose products are required for signal transduction by calcium, such as Alzheimer's disease, Darier's disease, Duchenne and limb girdle dystrophies, psoriasis and some forms of ichthyosis, and cancer associated retinopathy. With an extensive bibliography and over 2,500 references, Calcium Signalling in Cancer is an invaluable reference source.

"Calcium ions play a critical role in signaling in a wide variety of cells and tissues, including muscle, immune cells, neurons, the liver, and oocytes. This new volume explores the channels and pumps that transport calcium, calcium buffers and sensors, and how these produce distinct spatiotemporal signals in different circumstances. It covers calcium signaling during development and normal physiology, as well as perturbed signaling in diseases such as diabetes, neurodegeneration, and atherosclerosis"--

Intracellular Ca2+ signaling is witnessing an amazing resurgence of interest. In addition to traditional Ca2+ aficionados, an astonishing (and growing) number of colleagues from all around the world have started to devote a large part of their research to gain insights into the role of Ca2+ signaling in health and disease. This is why calcium ions interact with virtually every signal transduction pathway not only in mammalian cells, but also across the phylogenetic tree, thereby, driving or modulating most, if not all, cellular functions, ranging from fertilization to apoptosis, passing through learning and memory, cardiac contractility, and immune response. This book gathers a collection of original research articles and reviews by a number of renowned experts who aim to present the state of the art of many pathophysiological aspects of intracellular Ca2+ signaling, such as embryonic development, immune response, extracellular Ca2+ signaling, neoplastic transformation, muscle hypertrophy, pulmonary inflammation, and P2X receptor gating.