Medical Biochemistry Commons^™

Regulation Of L-Type Voltage-Dependnet Calcium Channels By The Rem Gtpase, Chunyan Pang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Rem, Rem2, Rad, and Gem/Kir GTPases, comprise a novel subfamily of the small Ras-related GTP-binding proteins known as the RGK GTPases, and have been shown to function as potent negative regulators of high voltage-activated (HVA) Ca²⁺ channels upon overexpression. HVA Ca²⁺ channels modulate Ca²⁺ influx in response to membrane depolarization to regulate a wide variety of cellular functions and they minimally consist of a pore-forming α1 subunit, an intracellular β subunit, and a transmembrane complex α₂/δ subunit. While the mechanisms underlying RGK-mediated Ca²⁺ channel regulation remain poorly defined, it appears that both membrane …