Researchers study cellular processes dependent on calcium ions

Calcium-ATPases convey calcium ions (Ca2+) from the cytoplasm to the extracellular space via active transport (using ATP as an energy source), and thus fundamentally contribute to the control of a wide variety of Ca2+-dependent processes in virtually any type of cell in humans and animals. Scientists in the group of Dr. Uwe Schulte and Prof. Dr. Bernd Fakler at the University of Freiburg have successfully unraveled the molecular appearance of this well-known ion pump: Ca2+-pumps of the plasma membrane (PMCAs) are identified as protein complexes that are assembled from two ATP-hydrolyzing transporter proteins and two as-yet unknown subunits, neuroplastin and basigin. These two novel protein subunits are essential for stability and trafficking of the PMCA complexes to the plasma membrane and control the PMCA-mediated Ca2+-transport. The researchers have published their work in Neuron.