Post-transcriptional modifications and "Calmodulation" of voltage-gated calcium channel function: Reflections by two collaborators of David T Yue.

This review article is written to specially pay tribute to David T. Yue who was an outstanding human being and an excellent scientist who exuded passion and creativity. He exemplified an inter-disciplinary scientist who was able to cross scientific boundaries effortlessly in order to provide amazing understanding on how calcium channels work. This article provides a glimpse of some of the research the authors have the privilege to collaborate with David and it attempts to provide the thinking behind some of the research done. In a wider context, we highlight that calcium channel function could be exquisitely modulated by interaction with a tethered calmodulin. Post-transcriptional modifications such as alternative splicing and RNA editing further influence the Ca(2+)-CaM mediated processes such as calcium dependent inhibition and/or facilitation. Besides modifications of electrophysiological and pharmacological properties, protein interactions with the channels could also be influenced in a splice-variant dependent manner.