Published online Jul 26, 2010. doi: 10.4331/wjbc.v1.i7.229
Revised: July 1, 2010
Accepted: July 8, 2010
Published online: July 26, 2010
Calcium signaling is used by neurons to control a variety of functions, including cellular differentiation, synaptic maturation, neurotransmitter release, intracellular signaling and cell death. This review focuses on one of the most important Ca2+ regulators in the cell, the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA), which has a high affinity for Ca2+ and is widely expressed in brain. The ontogeny of PMCA isoforms, linked to specific requirements of Ca2+ during development of different brain areas, is addressed, as well as their function in the adult tissue. This is based on the high diversity of variants in the PMCA family in brain, which show particular kinetic differences possibly related to specific localizations and functions of the cell. Conversely, alterations in the activity of PMCAs could lead to changes in Ca2+ homeostasis and, consequently, to neural dysfunction. The involvement of PMCA isoforms in certain neuropathologies and in brain ageing is also discussed.