Publications [#230012] of Zhen-Ming Pei

Papers Published

1. Zhao, X; Pei, Z-M; He, Y-K, [Extracellular Ca2+ signaling: first messenger in animals and plants]., Yi chuan = Hereditas, vol. 29 no. 3 (March, 2007), pp. 269-275, ISSN 0253-9772 [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/17)

   Abstract:
   It is well known that calcium acts as a vital intracellular second messenger that governs a large array of cellular processes. However, the molecular identification of a receptor for extracellular Ca2+, the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor, has opened up the possibility that Ca2+might also function as a messenger outside the cell. In animals, the Ca2+ sensor is the well-characterized extracellular-Ca2+- sensing receptor (CaR), a G- protein -coupled receptor originally isolated from the parathyroid gland. In addition, other receptors, channels and membrane proteins are all sensitive to external Ca2+ fluctuations. Recently, Han et al have cloned a receptor protein for extracellular calcium in Arabidopsis, which plays a key role in Ca2+-induced stomatal closing. Thus, the cloning of these receptors has prompted the consideration of Ca2+ also functioning as a 'first messenger' in animals and plants.