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Nature 416, 273-274 (21 March 2002) | doi:10.1038/416273a
Molecular physiology: Protecting the heart
Mark T. Nelson & Gerald M. Herrera
Abstract
Abnormal enlargement of the heart muscle can be life-threatening. Unexpected insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms has come from investigating a gene that regulates cardiac calcium levels.
The rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the heart depends on the dependable rise and fall of the level of calcium ions inside heart muscle cells. Although the basic mechanisms and much of the cellular machinery that produces these changes have long been known, the roles of several regulatory proteins are poorly understood.
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