Calcium ions (Ca(2+)) impact nearly every aspect of cellular life. This review examines the principles of Ca(2+) signaling, from changes in protein conformations driven by Ca(2+) to the mechanisms that control Ca(2+) levels in the cytoplasm and organelles. Also discussed is the highly localized nature of Ca(2+)-mediated signal transduction and its specific roles in excitability, exocytosis, motility, apoptosis, and transcription.

TRP channels are the vanguard of our sensory systems, responding to temperature, touch, pain, osmolarity, pheromones, taste and other stimuli. But their role is much broader than classical sensory transduction. They are an ancient sensory apparatus for the cell, not just the multicellular organism, and they have been adapted to respond to all manner of stimuli, from both within and outside the cell.

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