ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the principal characteristics of the Calmodulin (CaM) and its possible role in the fast-transport of intracellular components in peripheral nerve. The CaM is a low molecular weight protein which, in the presence of Ca2+, is resistant to denaturation by heating urea, detergents, high salt concentration, and acidic pH. The concentration of CaM in nervous tissue is very high and the protein has been found to modulate a large number of key biochemical enzymes and physiological responses in the nervous system. Calmodulin, the intracellular Ca2+ receptor protein plays an important role in the modulation of a number of key biochemical reactions, which in turn result in physiological responses. The exact regulatory process involving CaM has been and continues to be an area of intensive investigation. A prominent feature of CaM is its lack specificity to any tissue or species. CaM binds effectively with phenothiazines in the presence of Ca2+.
