Molecular genetics of Ca2+ stores and intracellular Ca2+ signalling

An increasing number of studies based on recombinant cells and on mouse models that express an altered repertoire of some of the key components of the intracellular Ca2+ release stores are becoming available as a result of molecular genetics techniques. Information from these studies, together with results from studies of human diseases caused by mutations in genes that encode proteins of the intracellular Ca2+ stores, are providing a significant advancement in understanding the interactive nature of the molecular machinery that underlies intracellular Ca2+ signalling and how the different components of the Ca2+ stores contribute to the regulation of cellular functions.