Incidences of brain illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are steadily increasing as the population ages. Calcium signalling in the brain is thought to be implicated in the onset of this diseases but the exact relationship between the two remains unknown.
This review by Masayoshi Yamaguchi from the University of Georgia discusses the role of the protein regucalcin, a calcium-binding protein involved in calcium signalling and its expression in the brain, which is known to decrease with age. This could represent part of a possible mechanism of how calcium levels in the brain alter over time. The paper looks at the effects of ageing on calcium signalling and what kind of role regucalcin could play as part of this as well as regucalcin’s role in calcium homeostasis.
Regucalcin has already been implicated in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and could also be involved in a number of X-linked mental retardation conditions. This review is a good primer for anyone seeking to learn more about the role of calcium in both healthy and disease brain tissue.
Role of regucalcin in brain calcium signaling: involvement in ageing
Masayoshi Yamaguchi
DOI: 10.1039/C2IB20042B
The role of cholesterol, when it accumulates into the ER membrane, in altering the calcium transport from cytosol to ER should be enlightened.
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