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Abbreviation | ECS |
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Formation | 1989 |
Founder | Roland Pochet, Rosario Donato, Claus Heizmann, Jacques Haiech |
Type | Non-profit |
Purpose | Scientific exchange |
Fields | Calcium signaling |
Membership | ~300 |
Secretary General | Prof. Dr. Geert Bultynck |
President | Prof. Dr. Andreas H. Guse |
Treasurer | Prof. Dr. Luc Leybaert |
Main organ | General assembly |
Website | calciumsociety |
The European Calcium Society is a non-profit society that aims to develop relationships between different generations of scientists in Europe working in the field of calcium signaling and the proteins involved in the Calcium Toolkit.
The First European Symposium took place in 1989 and covered calcium binding proteins in normal and transformed cells. The symposium resulted from a 30-month gestation.[ citation needed ]
The symposium filled a gap given the lack of European fora in which young European researchers could participate (the International Symposium was held in Asilomar, CA 1986, in Nagoya in 1988, in Banff, Canada, etc.)
A European Union grant called Stimulation Action was awarded to Roland Pochet in November 1986. Long discussions in 1988 between Pochet and Jacques Haiech at Mont Sainte-Odile who pointed out the importance of European researchers in calcium binding proteins (Hamoir, Liége, 1955, [1] Pechere, Montpellier, 1965, [2] Drabikowski, Varsovie, 1970 [3] ) and the strong support received from Claus Heizmann.
1997 was important because the “European Calcium Society” was registered under E.U. guidelines, which had earlier rejected a proposal to finance the fourth symposium because of lack of structure. In 1997 they created the group's first ECS Web site, [4] logo, newsletter and a set of statutes published in the “Moniteur belge” as an “Arrêté Royal du 22 septembre 1997” signed by King Albert II. [5]
1998-2005 was a consolidation period. Since 2000, ECS has been selected as an EU High-level Scientific Conference allowing it to offer grants to young European researchers. The board was enlarged to include Volker Gerke and Steve Moss. ECS provided posters, prizes and recently special grants for young researchers.
Since its creation, 30 to 35% of the participants at ECS symposia were young researchers (below 35 years old). Encouraging young researchers to participate has always been one of the main objectives.
Since 1992 Heizmann has sponsored the publication of significant articles in the scientific journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. A newsletter is also produced twice a year (May and November).
In 2007, ECS launched its first workshop, in Ariège (France). The second took place in June 2009 in Smolenice (Slovakia).
Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the binding of Ca2+ is required for the activation of calmodulin. Once bound to Ca2+, calmodulin acts as part of a calcium signal transduction pathway by modifying its interactions with various target proteins such as kinases or phosphatases.
Parvalbumin (PV) is a calcium-binding protein with low molecular weight. In humans, it is encoded by the PVALB gene. It is not a member of the albumin family; it is named for its size and its ability to coagulate.
The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a Class C G-protein coupled receptor which senses extracellular levels of calcium ions. It is primarily expressed in the parathyroid gland, the renal tubules of the kidney and the brain. In the parathyroid gland, it controls calcium homeostasis by regulating the release of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In the kidney it has an inhibitory effect on the reabsorption of calcium, potassium, sodium, and water depending on which segment of the tubule is being activated.
S100 calcium-binding protein A4 (S100A4) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A4 gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein A7 (S100A7), also known as psoriasin, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A7 gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein A2 (S100A2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A2 gene and it is located on chromosome 1q21 with other S100 proteins.
S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) is a protein of the S-100 protein family.
S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A8 gene. It is also known as calgranulin A.
S100A1, also known as S100 calcium-binding protein A1 is a protein which in humans is encoded by the S100A1 gene. S100A1 is highly expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle, and localizes to Z-discs and sarcoplasmic reticulum. S100A1 has shown promise as an effective candidate for gene therapy to treat post-myocardially infarcted cardiac tissue.
S100 calcium-binding protein A10 (S100A10), also known as p11, is a protein that is encoded by the S100A10 gene in humans and the S100a10 gene in other species. S100A10 is a member of the S100 family of proteins containing two EF-hand calcium-binding motifs. S100 proteins are localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of a wide range of cells. They regulate a number of cellular processes such as cell cycle progression and differentiation. The S100 protein is implicated in exocytosis and endocytosis by reorganization of F-actin.
S100 calcium-binding protein A6 (S100A6) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A6 gene.
Troponin C, also known as TN-C or TnC, is a protein that resides in the troponin complex on actin thin filaments of striated muscle and is responsible for binding calcium to activate muscle contraction. Troponin C is encoded by the TNNC1 gene in humans for both cardiac and slow skeletal muscle.
S100 calcium-binding protein A11 (S100A11) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A11 gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein P (S100P) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100P gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein A13 (S100A13) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A13 gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein A3 (S100A3) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A3 gene.
Serine/threonine-protein kinase 38 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the STK38 gene.
S100 calcium-binding protein A5 (S100A5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the S100A5 gene.
Arnold Martin Katz was a medical doctor, professor of cardiology, medical researcher, and author of medical textbooks and research articles.
Diane Lipscombe, Ph.D. is a professor of neuroscience and the Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Director of Brown University’s Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science. She served as the president of the Society for Neuroscience in 2019, the world’s largest organization for the study of the brain and nervous system.