FITC labeled mammalian calmodulin.Calmodulin (CaM) is an intracellular calcium receptor found ubiquitously in eukaryotes. It is capable of regulating biological activities of many cellular proteins and transmembrane ion transporters mainly in a Ca2+-dependent manner. When the intracellular calcium level rises to 10-5 M, four Ca2+ ions bind to calmodulin, and this Ca2+-calmodulin complex binds the target proteins, initiating various signaling cascades. CaM functions as an intracellular calcium ion bridge to mediate cellular reactions and responds appropriately to calcium ion concentration. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), irregular calcium homeostasis seems to trigger CaM and its binding proteins, to enhance plaque formation and neurofibrillary degeneration, which results in cell death.In Parkinson's disease (PD), Calmodulin has been found to interact, in a calcium-dependent manner, with Alpha-Synuclein, which is associated with the progression of PD. CaM was identified as one of the synuclein-interacting proteins that regulate synuclein conformation.

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