PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Juliane Proft
AU  - Norbert Weiss
TI  - G-protein Regulation of Neuronal Calcium Channels: Back to the Future
AID  - 10.1124/mol.114.096008
DP  - 2014 Dec 30
TA  - Molecular Pharmacology
PG  - mol.114.096008
4099  - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/12/30/mol.114.096008.short
4100  - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/12/30/mol.114.096008.full
AB  - Neuronal voltage-gated calcium channels have evolved as one of the most important players for calcium entry into presynaptic endings responsible for the release of neurotransmitter. In turn, and in order to fine tune synaptic activity and neuronal communication, numerous neurotransmitters exert a potent negative autocrine and/or paracrine control over the calcium signal provided by G-protein-coupled receptors. This regulation pathway of essential physiological importance is also extensively exploited for therapeutic purposes, for instance in the treatment of neuropathic pain by morphine and other mu-opioid receptor agonists. However, despite more than three decades of intensive research, important questions remain unsolved regarding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of direct G-protein inhibition of voltage-gated calcium channels. Here, we revisit this particular regulation and explore new considerations.