REGULATION OF CYTOSOLIC CALCIUM LEVELS IN VASCULAR SMOOTH-MUSCLE

Ca2+ plays an important role in the contraction of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle, as well as in a number of important processes, such as secretion and neuronal activity. In this review, I focus on the va rious mechanisms by which cytosolic Ca2+ concentration is regulated in vascular smooth muscle, in the resting state and during activation. P articular attention is paid to the calcium pumps of the plasmalemma an d the sarcoplasmic reticulum, to the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate- and ryanodine-sensitive calcium channels of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a nd to voltage dependent and voltage-independent calcium channels of th e plasmalemma.