| Abstract
| - Ca2+ signaling controls a wide range of cellular functions such as division, fertilization, apoptosis and necrosis. Specifically, calcium signaling is thought to play a crucial role in driving cells through the different stages of the cell-division cycle. In most cells, however, this fact is far from being established. Few studies have examined this question from a different perspective: whether cells exhibit some characteristic cell cycle-dependent intracellular calcium-signaling patterns. This approach is effective in discerning the causal relationship between Ca2+ signaling and the cell cycle. Through synchronization of the cell cycle, flow cytometry and confocal scanning microscopic intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) imaging, the present study shows that the G1/S phase transition is uniquely characterized by spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations that last for up to 40 min. Most likely, these oscillations emanate from the [Ca2+]i signaling that accompanies DNA replication as the cell prepares for the next division cycle. These temporal signals further affirm the significance of Ca2+ in the cell cycle.
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