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‘Cell Calcium’ — A new international, interdisciplinary journal
cell
@
Calcium I: 1-5, 1880
Churchill
Editorial
Livingstone
'CELL CALCIUM' - A NEW INTERNATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL R Maynard Case Department of Physiology, Stopford Building, University of flanchester, Manchester Ml3 9PT, U.K.
A wide variety of cell functions is subject to control by small fluctuations in concentration of ionized calcium within localised areas of the cell (Table 2). These fluctuations may be initiated by a variety of stimuli, including neurotransmitters, hormones, antigens, light etc., and are regulated by alterations in the permeability and transport characteristics of a variety of cell membranes (Table 1). This crucial role of calcium in cell homeostasis is still news to many biologists, in whose minds the words cell calcium are linked only to the
TABLE 1.
Postulated and proven mechanisms involved in cell Ca2+ homeostasis
Ca2+ entry across the plasma membrane Passive entry Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels Voltage-independent Ca2+ channels (regulated by phospholipid turnover?) Pinocytosis Ca2+ uptake and release by intracellular membranes and proteins Inner surface of plasma membrane Sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Mitochondria The Golgi complex and secretory granules Other vesicular stores (e.g. lyso$omes) Cytoplasmic binding proteins (Ca2 -dependent regulator or calmodulin) Ca2+ exit across the plasma membrane ATP-driven Ca2+ pumps (i.e. Ca2+-ATPases) Na+-Ca2+ exchange Ca2+-H+ exchange (prokaryotes) Exocytosis of granule contents
TABLE 2. Cell function;+whichhave been postulatedor proven to be depen$nt on, or regulatedby, Ca , Except where otherwisestated, the effect $f Ca is stimulatory,though this may depend upon the concentrationof Ca2 and the tissue under observation. (The distributionunder differentheadings is necessarilyarbitoryin some instances). Membraneevents Cell adhesion Plateletaggregation Cell communicationvia gap junctions(inhibition) Membrane fluidity (phase transition) Membrane fusion Passive permeability(especiallyan increasein P,,) Glucose transport Stimulus-response coupling: receptoroccupancy action potentials excitation-concentration coupling stimulus-secretion coupling Contractilemechanisms Contractionof muscle myofibrils Events dependenton microtubulesand/or microfilaments: motilityof cilia and flagella (eukaryotes) motilityof brush-bordermicrovilli cytoplasmicmotility,streamingand pseudopodformation. intracellulartransport (e.g. of pigment granules) cell division Flagellarrotation (prokaryotes) Spasmonemecontraction(peritrichciliates) Secretorymechanisms Intracellulartransportand dischargeof: neurotransmitters histaminefrom mast cells hormones from endocrinecells proteinsand mucus from exocrinecells Electrolyteand water transportby secretoryand absorptiveepithelia Other cell events Activationof the egg at fertilization Disassemblyof microtubules Photoreception Bioluminescence Memory storage for short-termhabituation(invertebrates)
2
TABLE 2 (continued).
Activationor inhibitionof specificenzyme systems Pyruvatedehydrogenasephosphatase Pyruvatedehydrogenasekinase Isocitratedehydrogenase Glycerolphosphatedehydrogenase Pyruvatekinase (inhibition) Pyruvatecarboxylase(inhibition) Phosphofructokinase Fructose 1:6 disphosphatase Phosphorylase-bkinase, and other phosphorylationreactions Glycogensynthasekinase-2 Some lipases and phospholipases Prostaglandinsynthesis Adenylatecyclase (inhibition) Guanylatecyclase Cyclic nucleotidephosphodiesterases Na, K-ATPase (inhibition)
contractionof skeletalmuscle. This relativeanonymityis not due to a lack of research:during the past year more than 2,000 articleswere publishedon cell calcium. However, these articleswere written by authors in a wide variety of disciplines(Biochemistry,Biophysics,Chemistry,Endocrinology, Medicine,Pharmacology,Physiology,Zoologyand others) and are disseminated in an even wider variety of journals. The choice of journal is often arbitrary, reflectingmerely departmentalallegiance,country of origin, or a desire for speedy publication. When asked in 1978-9, a number of leading scientistsin the calcium field agreed that there was a place for a journal in which quality articleson all aspects of cell calcium could be brought togetherand publishedquickly and efficiently. Their enthusiasmand willingnessto form an editorialboard were the signal to launch 'Cell Calcium'. It is our hope that provisionof this specific forum for publishingdata and discussionon calcium will facilitate communicationbetween scientistsof differentnationalitywho use differenttechniquesto study differentaspects of cell calcium homeostasis in differenttissues,but who are all fascinatedby the unique role of calciun in cell biology. Scope and Contents 'Cell Calcium'will publish articleswhich, broadly speaking,are concerned either with the regulationof cell calcium (Table 1) or with the regulation by calcium of cell functions(Table 2). In outline this includesthe following areas of research:inorganicchemistryof calcium related to biology, calcium transportacross membranes,calcium ionophores,Ca2+-ATPases,calcium accumulationby and release from intracellularmembranesand organelles, calciumbinding proteins,the role of calcium in membrane function,contrac3
tion, secretion and metabolism, the interactions between calcium and cyclic Articles on extracellular nucleotides and prostaglandins, and methodology. calcium will be published if they are clearly relevant to cellular calcium homeostasis. Original research papers will dominate the contents but reviews and hypothe only criterion for acceptance will be theses will also be published: Comments on published papers or on other points of controversy will quality. As an information service, the monthly bibliographic also be considered. bulletin on Cell Calcium prepared by the Biomedical Information Service at Sheffield University will be reprinted at the back of each issue. In addition, space will be available for other information of value to the “calcium community”, such as abstracts of papers read at symposia or conferences on calcium, conference announcements and reports, and book reviews. Where Have All
the Chemists Gone?
It is almost too obvious to state that major advances in biological understanding are often dependent upon appropriate technology in the physical sciences. The advent of divalent cation-stimulated ionophores, calcium electrodes and electron-probe micro-analysis are all contributing towards an It will probably not understanding of the role of calcium in cell function. be long before we possess a Ca2+-sensitive microelectrode that can rapidly monitor dynamic changes in intracellular calcium activity. However, of all the articles published on calcium, relatively few are written by chemists. I don’t know why, but obviously few chemists are interested in calcium. This journal seeks to encourage chemists to turn their attention to this neglected metal cation and is anxious to publish papers on methodology and on the inorganic chemistry of calcium as related to biology. Cell
Calcium and Clinical
Sciences
Although extracellular calcium metabolism has long been a favoured area of clinical research, few clinical laboratories have ‘Cell Calcium’ written But if intracellular calcium homeostasis is controlled above their doors. Links between with such precision may not some imbalance occasionally occur? altered cell calcium homeostasis and hypertension, muscular dystrophy, cancer, cystic fibrosiqdiabetes and some other diseases have already been proposed, and the therapeutic action of some drugs may depend on their being calcium antagonists. Experimental papers and hypotheses ular calcium homeostasis and clinical Journal
Production
and Editorial
which explore the relation between cellmedicine will be welcomed.
Policy
In order to expedite publication, printing will be directly from typescripts It is therefore important that the “Instructions to prepared by the authors. as closely as possible. Authors”, printed on the inside back cover, be followed We especially draw your attention to the need to use S.I. units. Photographic
reproduction
of typescripts 4
is aesthetically
less
satisfactory
than production by conventional techniques (although innovations in typewriter technology and graphical techniques continuously minimise this objection). It is also time-consuming during the preparation of the final However, we feel that scientists are generally more tolerant of typescript. these objections than the otherwise inevitable delay in publication of three to six months brought about by typesetting, proof-reading etc. After receipt, manuscripts will be assessed by two independent editors or other referees. In order to encourage objective, fair and positive critisism, referees will be asked to sign their reports and, where necessary, to indicate ways in which papers that are unacceptable may be made suitable for publication by additional experimental work and/or by re-writing. After papers have been accepted for publication they will be forwarded each month directly to the printers, who will print the journal within four weeks. Therefore papers should be published within six to ten weeks of acceptance. Delays prior to acceptance will depend on myself, the Editorial Board and other referees, but there is no reason why acceptable papers should not That will be our aim. appear within three months of submission. In conclusion
. . .
this new journal: The . it is undeniably presumptuous to subtitle Inieinational, Interdisciplinary Forum for Research on Calcium. However, we hope and expect that the journal’s broad scope, open refereeing and rapid publication will quickly justify this claim. It is also hoped that by the journal will facilitate a lively publishing reviews, comments etc., exchange of views on topics of current interest.
@
Calcium I: 1-5, 1880
Churchill
Editorial
Livingstone
'CELL CALCIUM' - A NEW INTERNATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL R Maynard Case Department of Physiology, Stopford Building, University of flanchester, Manchester Ml3 9PT, U.K.
A wide variety of cell functions is subject to control by small fluctuations in concentration of ionized calcium within localised areas of the cell (Table 2). These fluctuations may be initiated by a variety of stimuli, including neurotransmitters, hormones, antigens, light etc., and are regulated by alterations in the permeability and transport characteristics of a variety of cell membranes (Table 1). This crucial role of calcium in cell homeostasis is still news to many biologists, in whose minds the words cell calcium are linked only to the
TABLE 1.
Postulated and proven mechanisms involved in cell Ca2+ homeostasis
Ca2+ entry across the plasma membrane Passive entry Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels Voltage-independent Ca2+ channels (regulated by phospholipid turnover?) Pinocytosis Ca2+ uptake and release by intracellular membranes and proteins Inner surface of plasma membrane Sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Mitochondria The Golgi complex and secretory granules Other vesicular stores (e.g. lyso$omes) Cytoplasmic binding proteins (Ca2 -dependent regulator or calmodulin) Ca2+ exit across the plasma membrane ATP-driven Ca2+ pumps (i.e. Ca2+-ATPases) Na+-Ca2+ exchange Ca2+-H+ exchange (prokaryotes) Exocytosis of granule contents
TABLE 2. Cell function;+whichhave been postulatedor proven to be depen$nt on, or regulatedby, Ca , Except where otherwisestated, the effect $f Ca is stimulatory,though this may depend upon the concentrationof Ca2 and the tissue under observation. (The distributionunder differentheadings is necessarilyarbitoryin some instances). Membraneevents Cell adhesion Plateletaggregation Cell communicationvia gap junctions(inhibition) Membrane fluidity (phase transition) Membrane fusion Passive permeability(especiallyan increasein P,,) Glucose transport Stimulus-response coupling: receptoroccupancy action potentials excitation-concentration coupling stimulus-secretion coupling Contractilemechanisms Contractionof muscle myofibrils Events dependenton microtubulesand/or microfilaments: motilityof cilia and flagella (eukaryotes) motilityof brush-bordermicrovilli cytoplasmicmotility,streamingand pseudopodformation. intracellulartransport (e.g. of pigment granules) cell division Flagellarrotation (prokaryotes) Spasmonemecontraction(peritrichciliates) Secretorymechanisms Intracellulartransportand dischargeof: neurotransmitters histaminefrom mast cells hormones from endocrinecells proteinsand mucus from exocrinecells Electrolyteand water transportby secretoryand absorptiveepithelia Other cell events Activationof the egg at fertilization Disassemblyof microtubules Photoreception Bioluminescence Memory storage for short-termhabituation(invertebrates)
2
TABLE 2 (continued).
Activationor inhibitionof specificenzyme systems Pyruvatedehydrogenasephosphatase Pyruvatedehydrogenasekinase Isocitratedehydrogenase Glycerolphosphatedehydrogenase Pyruvatekinase (inhibition) Pyruvatecarboxylase(inhibition) Phosphofructokinase Fructose 1:6 disphosphatase Phosphorylase-bkinase, and other phosphorylationreactions Glycogensynthasekinase-2 Some lipases and phospholipases Prostaglandinsynthesis Adenylatecyclase (inhibition) Guanylatecyclase Cyclic nucleotidephosphodiesterases Na, K-ATPase (inhibition)
contractionof skeletalmuscle. This relativeanonymityis not due to a lack of research:during the past year more than 2,000 articleswere publishedon cell calcium. However, these articleswere written by authors in a wide variety of disciplines(Biochemistry,Biophysics,Chemistry,Endocrinology, Medicine,Pharmacology,Physiology,Zoologyand others) and are disseminated in an even wider variety of journals. The choice of journal is often arbitrary, reflectingmerely departmentalallegiance,country of origin, or a desire for speedy publication. When asked in 1978-9, a number of leading scientistsin the calcium field agreed that there was a place for a journal in which quality articleson all aspects of cell calcium could be brought togetherand publishedquickly and efficiently. Their enthusiasmand willingnessto form an editorialboard were the signal to launch 'Cell Calcium'. It is our hope that provisionof this specific forum for publishingdata and discussionon calcium will facilitate communicationbetween scientistsof differentnationalitywho use differenttechniquesto study differentaspects of cell calcium homeostasis in differenttissues,but who are all fascinatedby the unique role of calciun in cell biology. Scope and Contents 'Cell Calcium'will publish articleswhich, broadly speaking,are concerned either with the regulationof cell calcium (Table 1) or with the regulation by calcium of cell functions(Table 2). In outline this includesthe following areas of research:inorganicchemistryof calcium related to biology, calcium transportacross membranes,calcium ionophores,Ca2+-ATPases,calcium accumulationby and release from intracellularmembranesand organelles, calciumbinding proteins,the role of calcium in membrane function,contrac3
tion, secretion and metabolism, the interactions between calcium and cyclic Articles on extracellular nucleotides and prostaglandins, and methodology. calcium will be published if they are clearly relevant to cellular calcium homeostasis. Original research papers will dominate the contents but reviews and hypothe only criterion for acceptance will be theses will also be published: Comments on published papers or on other points of controversy will quality. As an information service, the monthly bibliographic also be considered. bulletin on Cell Calcium prepared by the Biomedical Information Service at Sheffield University will be reprinted at the back of each issue. In addition, space will be available for other information of value to the “calcium community”, such as abstracts of papers read at symposia or conferences on calcium, conference announcements and reports, and book reviews. Where Have All
the Chemists Gone?
It is almost too obvious to state that major advances in biological understanding are often dependent upon appropriate technology in the physical sciences. The advent of divalent cation-stimulated ionophores, calcium electrodes and electron-probe micro-analysis are all contributing towards an It will probably not understanding of the role of calcium in cell function. be long before we possess a Ca2+-sensitive microelectrode that can rapidly monitor dynamic changes in intracellular calcium activity. However, of all the articles published on calcium, relatively few are written by chemists. I don’t know why, but obviously few chemists are interested in calcium. This journal seeks to encourage chemists to turn their attention to this neglected metal cation and is anxious to publish papers on methodology and on the inorganic chemistry of calcium as related to biology. Cell
Calcium and Clinical
Sciences
Although extracellular calcium metabolism has long been a favoured area of clinical research, few clinical laboratories have ‘Cell Calcium’ written But if intracellular calcium homeostasis is controlled above their doors. Links between with such precision may not some imbalance occasionally occur? altered cell calcium homeostasis and hypertension, muscular dystrophy, cancer, cystic fibrosiqdiabetes and some other diseases have already been proposed, and the therapeutic action of some drugs may depend on their being calcium antagonists. Experimental papers and hypotheses ular calcium homeostasis and clinical Journal
Production
and Editorial
which explore the relation between cellmedicine will be welcomed.
Policy
In order to expedite publication, printing will be directly from typescripts It is therefore important that the “Instructions to prepared by the authors. as closely as possible. Authors”, printed on the inside back cover, be followed We especially draw your attention to the need to use S.I. units. Photographic
reproduction
of typescripts 4
is aesthetically
less
satisfactory
than production by conventional techniques (although innovations in typewriter technology and graphical techniques continuously minimise this objection). It is also time-consuming during the preparation of the final However, we feel that scientists are generally more tolerant of typescript. these objections than the otherwise inevitable delay in publication of three to six months brought about by typesetting, proof-reading etc. After receipt, manuscripts will be assessed by two independent editors or other referees. In order to encourage objective, fair and positive critisism, referees will be asked to sign their reports and, where necessary, to indicate ways in which papers that are unacceptable may be made suitable for publication by additional experimental work and/or by re-writing. After papers have been accepted for publication they will be forwarded each month directly to the printers, who will print the journal within four weeks. Therefore papers should be published within six to ten weeks of acceptance. Delays prior to acceptance will depend on myself, the Editorial Board and other referees, but there is no reason why acceptable papers should not That will be our aim. appear within three months of submission. In conclusion
. . .
this new journal: The . it is undeniably presumptuous to subtitle Inieinational, Interdisciplinary Forum for Research on Calcium. However, we hope and expect that the journal’s broad scope, open refereeing and rapid publication will quickly justify this claim. It is also hoped that by the journal will facilitate a lively publishing reviews, comments etc., exchange of views on topics of current interest.