Open AccessGlial calcium signaling in physiology and pathophysiology 1
Author(s) -
VERKHRATSKY Alexei
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pharmacologica sinica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.514
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1745-7254
pISSN - 1671-4083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2006.00396.x
Subject(s) - endoplasmic reticulum , calcium signaling , microbiology and biotechnology , calcium , nervous system , neuroglia , intracellular , biology , calcium in biology , neuroscience , signal transduction , astrocyte , syncytium , central nervous system , chemistry , cell , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Neuronal‐glial circuits underlie integrative processes in the nervous system. Function of glial syncytium is, to a very large extent, regulated by the intracellular calcium signaling system. Glial calcium signals are triggered by activation of multiple receptors, expressed in glial membrane, which regulate both Ca 2+ entry and Ca 2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum also endows glial cells with intracellular excitable media, which is able to produce and maintain long‐ranging signaling in a form of propagating Ca 2+ waves. In pathological conditions, calcium signals regulate glial response to injury, which might have both protective and detrimental effects on the nervous tissue.