Calcium-binding proteins: an overview.

In order to understand the mechanism of the various responses evoked by calcium in the cell, the identification and characterization of a number of calcium receptors were undertaken within the past two decades. Advances in amino acid sequence and protein three-dimensional structure led to the description of two families of calcium-binding proteins, the EF-hand homolog family and the annexin family. The EF-hand motif consists of two alpha helices, "E" and "F", joined by a Ca(2+)-binding loop. EF-hands have been identified in numerous Ca(2+)-binding proteins by similarity of amino acid sequence and confirmed in some crystal structures. Functional EF-hands seem always to occur in pairs. To date, the EF-hand homolog family contains more than 160 different Ca(2+)-modulated proteins which have a broad range of functions. Among them, are the calmodulin, the troponin C, the myosin regulatory light chain, the parvalbumin, the S-100 proteins and the calbindins 9- and 28 kDa. The most striking feature of the EF-hand family is the ability to modulate the activity of a number of enzymes. Several groups have identified proteins from various tissues that show calcium-dependent binding to membranes. These proteins, termed annexins have a molecular weight of 35- or 67 kDa. The amino acid sequences of the members of the annexin family show that each protein contains conserved internal repeats of about 70 amino acids each. The 35 kDa annexins contain four repeats, which show a high degree of homology with each other and with the repeat sequences of the other proteins. These repeats correspond to structural domains with a similar fold.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)