Ingrid Lajdova and Viera Spustova
Mini review summarizes the results of studies focused on elucidating pathophysiological mechanisms of altered intracellular calcium homeostasis in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with early stages of chronic kidney disease. The basic mechanisms of calcium entry as well as those of its removal are impaired by the disease. These disturbances cause an increase concentration of free cytosolic calcium which can result in a change of broad range of cellular processes and expression patterns of various signaling molecules. Vitamin D3 supplementation is the standard treatment of frequent vitamin D3 insufficiency or deficiency in these patients. It can be assumed that vitamin D3 through the pleiotropic effects may participate in modulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis. Vitamin D3 supplementation resulted in a reduction of cytosolic free calcium affecting some of the transport systems involved in cell calcium entry as well as calcium exit. Normalization of the cytosolic free calcium concentration can have a beneficial effect on intracellular signaling. The mechanisms for regulating and controlling intracellular calcium homeostasis in chronic kidney disease patients are currently still under investigation.