Sodium Calcium Exchange: A Growing Spectrum of Pathophysiological Implications

Lucio Annunziato is Professor of Pharmacology and chairman of the Department of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine at the “Federico II” University of Naples, Italy. He is coordinator of the University’s Neuroscience Ph.D. program. He is also past-president of the Italian Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Annunziato has authored more that 190 full papers in peer reviewed international journals in the field of neuroscience and molecular pharmacology of plasmamembrane transporters and ionic channels involved in the pathophysiology of stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases. 

Part I. Historical Perspective.- 1. Livin with NCX and Lovin It: 45 Year Romance.- 2. 20 Years from NCX Purification and Cloning: Milestones.- Part II Structural and Functional Aspects of NCX.- 3. Ca2+ Regulation in the Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger Features a Dual Electrostatic Switch Mechanism.- 4. Molecular Determinants of Allosteric Regulation in NCX Proteins.- 5. NCX1: Mechanism of Transport.- 6. Structural Studies of the Ca2+ Regulatory Domain of Drosophila Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger CALX.- 7. Interplay of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in Sodium-Calcium and in other Ca2+ Binding Proteins. Magnesium: Watchdog That Blocks Each Turn If Able.- Part III. Structural and Functional Aspects of NCKX.- 8. Functional and Structural Properties of the NCKX2 Na+-Ca2+/K+ Exchanger: a Comparison with the NCX1 Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger.- 9. NCKX5, a Natural Regulator of Human Skin Colour Variation Regulates the Expression of Key Pigment Genes mc1r and alpha-MSH, and Alters Cholesterol Homeostasis in Normal Human Melanocytes.- 10. Expression and Regulation of Sodium/Calcium Exchangers, NCX and NCKX, in Reproductive Tissues: Do They Play a Critical Role in Calcium Transport for Reproduction and Development?.- Part IV. Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation.- 11. Transcriptional Pathways and Potential Therapeutic Targets in the Regulation of NCX1 Expression in Cardiac Hypertrophy and Failure.- 12. Transcriptional Regulation of ncx1 Gene in the Brain.- Part V. Regulatory Mechanisms of NCX.- 13. Metabolic Regulation of the Squid Nerve Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger: Recent Developments.- 14. Regulation of Sodium-Calcium Exchanger Activity by Creatine Kinase.- 15. Coordinated Regulation of Cardiac Na<+/Ca2+ Exchanger and Na+-K+-ATPase by Phospholemman (FXYD1).- Part VI. Subcellular Localization and Function of NCX in Ca2+-Storing Organelles and Mitochondria.- 16. Mitochondria Na+-Ca2+ Exchange in Cardiomyocytes and Lymphocytes.- 17. New Insights in Mitochondrial Calcium Handling by Sodium/Calcium Exchanger.- Part VII. NCX in Neurodegenerative Diseases.- 18. Genetically-Modified Mice as a Strategy to Unravel the Role Played by the Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger in Brain Ischemia and in Spatial Learning and Memory Deficits.- 19. NCX as a Key Player in the Neuroprotection Exerted by Ischemic Preconditioning and Postconditioning.- 20. The Role of the Mitochondrial NCX in the Mechanism of Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease.- 21. The Contribution of the Sodium-Calcium Exchanger (NCX) and Plasma Membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) to Cerebellar Synapse Function.- Part VIII. Emerging Role of NCX Activity in Immune and Glial Cells.- 22. Sodium-Calcium Exchanger Modulates the L-Glutamate Ca2+-signalling in Type-1 Cerebellar Astrocytes.- 23. Immunosupressive Drugs, Immunophilins and Functional Expression of NCX Isoforms.- 24. Calcium Influx Through Reversed ncx Controls Migration Of Microglia.- 25. Sodium Fluxes and Astroglial Function.- 26. New Roles of NCX in Glial Cells: Activation Of Microglia in Ischemia and Differentiation of Oligodendrocytes.- 27. Human Macrophages and Monocytes Express Functional Na+/Ca2+ Exchangers 1 and 3.- Part IX. NCX in the Hearth and Vascular Smooth Muscle.- 28. New Insights into the Contribution of Arterial NCX to the Regulation of Myogenic Tone and Blood Pressure.- 29. Toward an Understanding of the Complete NCX1 Lifetime in the Cardiac Sarcolemma.- Part X. NCX Role in Hypertension, Heart Failure, Ischemia-Reperfusion, Arrhythmias, and Diabetes.- 30. Cardiac Sodium-Calcium Exchange and Efficient Excitation-Contraction Coupling: Implications for Heart Disease.- 31. Cross-talk Between Plasma Membrane Na+/Ca2+Exchanger-1 and TRPC/ORAI Containing Channels: Key Players in Arterial Hypertension.- 32. T-tubule Remodeling and Ryanodine Receptor Organization Modulate Sodium-Calcium Exchange.- 33. Na+/ Ca2+ Exchange and the Plasma Membrane Ca2+-ATPase in β-Cell Function and Diabetes.- Part XI. NCX Partners in Ionic Homeostasis: ASIC, NMDA, NHE, and TRPC.- 34. The Na+/H+ Exchanger NHE5 is Sorted to Discrete Intracellular Vesicles in the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems.- 35. The Role of Na+/H+ Exchanger Isoform 1 in Inflammatory Responses: Maintaining H+ Homeostasis of Immune Cells.- 36. Acid-sensing Ion Channels in Pathological Conditions.- 37. Non-Selective Cation Channels and Links to Hippocampal Ischemia, Aging and Dementia.