Calcium pump Calcium pump Calcium pumps are a family of ion transporters found in the cell membrane of all animal cells. They are responsible for the active transport of calcium out of the cell for the maintenance of the steep Ca electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane. Calcium pumps play a crucial role in proper cell signalling by keeping the intracellular calcium concentration roughly 10,000 times lower than the extracellular concentration. Failure to do so is one cause of muscle cramps. The plasma membrane Ca ATPase and the sodium-calcium exchanger are together the main regulators of intracellular Ca concentrations. Ca has many
Calcium supplement is rare, and difficult to achieve without administering calcium intravenously. For example, the oral median lethal dose (LD) for rats for calcium carbonate and calcium chloride are 6.45 and 1.4 g/kg, respectively. Calcium supplements by mouth diminish the absorption of thyroxine when taken within four to six hours of each other. Thus, people taking both calcium and thyroxine run the risk of inadequate thyroid hormone replacement and thence hypothyroidism if they take them simultaneously or near-simultaneously. The intravenous formulations of calcium include calcium chloride and calcium gluconate. The forms that are taken by mouth include calcium acetate, calcium carbonate, calcium