Chapter 8 **Alterations in Calcium Signaling Pathways in Breast Cancer 165**

Adrian Dumitru, Daniela Oana Toader, Sanda Maria Cretoiu, Dragos Cretoiu, Nicolae Suciu and Beatrice Mihaela Radu

Preface

Since the development of microelectronic clamping methodology and fluorescent indicators for direct measurement of dynamic intracellular calcium transients, our understanding of biological signal transduction has progressed dramatically since the 1980s. Calcium is a uni‐ versal signal in biology that modulates gene expression, transmitter and hormone release, muscular movement, and even "programmed" cell death. This book contains 8 carefully re‐ viewed chapters from a diverse set of expert biologists throughout the world who have con‐ ducted research in the general area of calcium signaling in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In accord with priorities of resolving human disease, the reader will also benefit from learning calcium's role in cellular signaling pathology relating to acute or chronic con‐

We wish to thank our expert contributors for their time and effort to share their research and knowledge. Also, we express our gratitude to the Intech staff including Lucija Tomicic-Dromgool (Commissioning Editor) for the editorial invitation and to Danijela Sakic (Pub‐ lishing Process Manager) for fielding all correspondence in order to make this book possible.

**John N. Buchholz, PhD and Erik J. Behringer, PhD**

Loma Linda University School of Medicine

USA

ditions such as vomiting, sepsis, obesity, hypertension, and cancer.
