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Calcium and Mitochondrion

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Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins
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Synonyms

Calcium and mitochondria

Definition

Calcium: An alkaline earth metal having atomic number 20, typically found in the 2+ oxidation state.

Mitochondrion (plural: mitochondria): An intracellular organelle noted for being the site of oxidative phosphorylation and for producing over 90% of the ATP in a typical animal cell.

Importance of Mitochondrial Ca2+ Transport

Mitochondrial Ca2+ transport is known to perform three functions: (1) to activate steps in the metabolic pathways and increase the rate of ATP production, (2) to modify the shape and distribution of cytosolic Ca2+ transients, and (3) to induce the mitochondrial permeability transition in mitochondrially induced apoptosis or programmed cell death. These functions are extremely important. Intramitochondrial free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]m) activates important steps in the metabolic pathways, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and the F1F0ATP synthase, which taken...

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Correspondence to Thomas E. Gunter .

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Gunter, T.E. (2013). Calcium and Mitochondrion. In: Kretsinger, R.H., Uversky, V.N., Permyakov, E.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_57

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