Voltage-gated calcium channels regulate calcium levels and allow calcium in and out of excitable cells, including neurons and glial and muscle cells. The channels have properties that let them perform certain tasks, such as presynaptic vesicular release of neurotransmitters. A new review in the journal Function explores the molecular and biophysical properties of voltage-gated calcium channels and how these characteristics shape their function.
“Since the opening of a few of channels, or even a single channel, is able to mediate release at discrete small excitatory and inhibitory synapses, it is extremely important to understand the individual and distinct properties of these channels, in order to appreciate how this process of release is constrained by the localization, tethering, properties and modulation of the channels,” the authors wrote.
Read the full article, “Functions of presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels.” Contact the APS Communications Office to schedule an interview with the research team.
