Calcium signaling in microglial cells

Abstract

Receptor‐mediated Ca²⁺ signals are a common signal transduction mechanism in all living cells, including microglia. Recent years have brought major advances in our understanding of microglial Ca²⁺ signaling. More than 20 receptor/ligand interactions leading to Ca²⁺ signals in microglia have been described so far, and it seems that this is just the beginning. The literature has grown rapidly during the past few years, especially in regard to chemokine and ATP/UTP receptor signaling. This article presents a brief overview of the basics of Ca²⁺ signaling, reviews the current literature on microglial Ca²⁺ signaling, and discusses the current challenges and possible future directions of this emerging field. GLIA 40:184–194, 2002.