Calcium and signal transduction

Cell signaling is an essential process in which a variety of external signals, defined as first messengers, are translated inside the cells into specific responses, which are mediated by a less numerous group of second messengers. The exchange of signals became a necessity when the transition from monocellular to pericellular life brought with it the division of labor among the cells of the organisms: unicellular organisms do not depend on the mutual exchange of signals, as they essentially only compete with each other for nutrients. Calcium (Ca²⁺) was selected during evolution as second messenger, because its chemistry made it a much more flexible ligand than the other abundant cations in the primordial environment (Na⁺, K ⁺, Mg²⁺). Ca²⁺ can accept binding sites of irregular geometries and is thus ideally suited to be a carrier of biological information. The Ca²⁺ signal has properties that set it apart from those of all other biological messengers: they will be reviewed in this contribution. Among them, the ambivalent character of the Ca²⁺ signal is the most important: while essential to the viability of the cells, it can also easily become a conveyor of doom.