Plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase in excitable and nonexcitable cells.

There is a significant number of data confirming that the maintenance of calcium homeostasis in a living cell is a complex, multiregulated process. Calcium efflux from excitable cells (i.e., neurons) occurs through two main systems--an electrochemically driven Na+/Ca2+ exchanger with a low Ca2+ affinity (K0.5 = 10-15 microM), and a plasmalemmal, specific Ca2+-ATPase, with a high Ca2+ affinity (K0.5 < 0.5-1 microM), whereas in nonexcitable cells (i.e., erythrocytes) the calcium pump is the sole system responsible for the extrusion of calcium ions. The plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) is a ubiquitously expressed protein, and more than 26 transcripts of four PMCA genes are distributed in a tissue specific manner. Differences in the structure and localization of PMCA variants are thought to correlate with specific regulatory properties and may have consequences for proper cellular Ca2+ signaling. The regulatory mechanisms of calcium pump activity have been studied extensively, resulting in a new view of the functioning of this important molecule in the membranes.