Review

CCN3 and calcium signaling

Alain Lombet¹ , Nathalie Planque² , Anne-Marie Bleau² , Chang Long Li² and Bernard Perbal²

¹  CNRS UMR 8078, Hôpital Marie Lannelongue, 133, Avenue de la Résistance 92350 Le PLESSIS-ROBINSON, France

²  Laboratoire d'Oncologie Virale et Moléculaire, Tour 54, Case 7048, Université Paris 7-D.Diderot, 2 Place Jussieu 75005 PARIS, France

author email corresponding author email

Cell Communication and Signaling 2003, 1:1doi:10.1186/1478-811X-1-1

Published:	15 August 2003

Abstract

The CCN family of genes consists presently of six members in human (CCN1-6) also known as Cyr61 (Cystein rich 61), CTGF (Connective Tissue Growth Factor), NOV (Nephroblastoma Overexpressed gene), WISP-1, 2 and 3 (Wnt-1 Induced Secreted Proteins). Results obtained over the past decade have indicated that CCN proteins are matricellular proteins, which are involved in the regulation of various cellular functions, such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, adhesion and migration. The CCN proteins have recently emerged as regulatory factors involved in both internal and external cell signaling. CCN3 was reported to physically interact with fibulin-1C, integrins, Notch and S100A4. Considering that, the conformation and biological activity of these proteins are dependent upon calcium binding, we hypothesized that CCN3 might be involved in signaling pathways mediated by calcium ions.

In this article, we review the data showing that CCN3 regulates the levels of intracellular calcium and discuss potential models that may account for the biological effects of CCN3.