Calcium Channels--Link Locally, Act Globally

Ca-dependent gene transcription and L-type Cachannel inactivation share a common initiating event. As Ikeda explains in his Perspective, in each case, local increases in [Ca] result in binding to calmodulin that is tethered to the Cachannel protein. An accompanying conformational change triggers phosphorylation of the transcription factor CREB and closure, or inactivation, of L-type Cachannels ( Dolmetsch et al .).