This conference sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences will highlight the remarkable progress achieved over the last few years concerning calcium channels in excitable tissues. Advances were mainly possible because of the development of new Ca++ channel ligands and of new methods for the detailed functional investigation of single Ca++ channel molecules. Thus, several distinct Ca++ channel types with different biophysical, physiological, pharmacological and regulatory properties have been identified. New models for the mechanisms of ion permeation and channel gating have been developed. New high-affinity ligands have allowed the chemical purification and elucidation of the subunit composition of at least one channel type, the localization of channel distribution as well as the observation of Ca++ channel expression during development and in various diseases. Additionally, antibodies against Ca++ channels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome, and a specific absence of Ca++ channels has been demonstrated in muscular dysgenesis. Ca++ channel study has evolved into a truly multi-disciplinary effort. The conference will bring together scientists from neurobiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology and pharmacology, each contributing a vital part to the understanding of this relevant biological signalling pathway.
