Decoding cytosolic Ca<sup>2+</sup>oscillations
Parekh AB.
A rise in cytosolic Ca2+concentration is used as a universal signalling mechanism to control biological processes as diverse as exocytosis, contraction, cell growth and cell death. Ca2+signals are often presented to cells in the form of Ca2+oscillations, with signalling information encoded in both amplitude and frequency of the Ca2+spikes. Recent studies have revealed that the sub-cellular spatial profile of the Ca2+oscillation is also important in activating cellular responses, thereby suggesting a new mechanism for extracting information from he ubiquitous Ca2+oscillation. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.