Role of calcium signals in early development

The mammalian egg appears to transduce the duration, amplitude, and temporal presentation of the increase in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+](i)) upon fertilization. These Ca2+ parameters have important short-term effects on the initiation and completion of early events of egg activation, as well as much later consequences for the extent of peri-implantation development. Recent studies have begun to shed light on how the egg quantitatively interprets the Ca2+ signal (e.g., by summation of individual Ca2+ rises) and the mechanisms by which down-stream Ca2+ effectors, such as Ca2+/Calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), utilize this ionic signal to promote biological events that initiate development. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.