ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with highlighting a developing literature relating the control of protein synthesis at translation to the Ca+ signal transduction system basic to the regulation of a wide variety of specialized processes. It discusses an earlier review pertaining to Ca2+ dependent regulation of protein synthesis in intact mammalian cells. Functions commonly associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) include early protein processing, phospholipid biosynthesis, oxidative metabolism of hydrophobic molecules including many drugs, and storage of Ca2+ releasable in response to extracellular stimuli. The translational process has traditionally been divided into the stages of initiation, elongation, and termination, each of which involves complex interactions of proteins and RNA. Hormones such as angiotensin II, vasopressin, and a-adrenergic agonists act on hepatocytes to generate inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate which in turn mobilizes approximately 50% of sequestered Ca2+ stores from the ER to the cytoplasm over a few minutes.
