Genetic polymorphism and protein conformational plasticity in the calmodulin superfamily: Two ways to promote multifunctionality

Calcium signaling pathways control a variety of cellular events such as gene transcription, protein phosphorylation, nucleotide metabolism, and ion transport. These pathways often involve a large number of calcium-binding proteins collectively known as the calmodulin or EF-hand protein superfamily. Many EF-hand proteins undergo a large conformational change upon binding to Ca2+ and target proteins. All members of the superfamily share marked sequence homology and similar structural features required to sense Ca2+. Despite such structural similarities, the functional diversity of EF-hand calcium-binding proteins is extraordinary. Calmodulin itself can bind > 300 different proteins, and the many members of the neuronal calcium sensor and S100 protein families collectively recognize a largely different set of target proteins. Recent biochemical and structural studies of many different EF-hand proteins highlight remarkable similarities and variations in conformational responses to the common ligand Ca2+ and their respective cellular targets. In this review, we examine the essence of molecular recognition activities and the mechanisms by which calmodulin superfamily proteins control a wide variety of Ca2+ signaling processes.