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Abstract
Voltage-gated calcium channels are important mediators of several physiological processes,
including neuronal excitability and muscle contraction. At the molecular level, the
channels are composed of four subunits--the pore forming alpha(1) subunit and the
auxiliary alpha(2)delta, beta and gamma subunits. The auxiliary subunits modulate
the trafficking and the biophysical properties of the alpha(1) subunit. In the past
several years there has been an acceleration of our understanding of the auxiliary
subunits, primarily because of their molecular characterization and the availability
of spontaneous and targeted mouse mutants. These studies have revealed the crucial
role of the subunits in the functional effects that are mediated by voltage-gated
calcium channels.