Deciphering the Calcium Code: A Review of Calcium Activity Analysis Methods Employed to Identify Meaningful Activity in Early Neural Development.

The intracellular and intercellular flux of calcium ions represents an ancient and universal mode of signaling that regulates an extensive array of cellular processes. Evidence for the central role of calcium signaling includes various techniques that allow the visualization of calcium activity in living cells. While extensively investigated in mature cells, calcium activity is equally important in developing cells, particularly the embryonic nervous system where it has been implicated in a wide variety array of determinative events.

The Gene Family: From Embryo to Disease.

The genes encode gated chloride channels that are found in animals, plants, and even simple eukaryotes, signifying their deep evolutionary origin. In vertebrates, the gene family is highly conserved and consists of three members-, and -that are important for the regulation of cell volume. While research has elucidated potential physiological functions of in neural stem cell maintenance, proliferation, and filopodia formation during neural development, the roles of and are less characterized, though their expression patterns during embryonic and fetal development suggest potential roles in the development of a wide range of tissues including a role in the immune system in response to pathogen-associated molecules.