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Calcitonin (CT) is a peptide hormone that is secreted by the parafollicular cells of the thyroid in response to elevated serum calcium levels. It acts to reduce serum calcium by inhibiting bone resorption and promoting renal calcium excretion. In addition to this hypocalcemie effect, calcitonin modulates the renal transport of water and several ions other than calcium and acts on the central nervous system to induce analgesia, anorexia, and gastric secretion. The CT receptor, a member of a newly described family of serpentine G protein-coupled receptors, has recently been shown to couple to multiple trimeric G proteins, thereby activating several signaling proteins, including protein kinase C, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. In kidney proximal tubule cells (LLC-PK1), the CT-activated signaling mechanisms vary in a cell cycle-dependent manner, with the receptor coupling through a G(s) protein during G(2) phase and through a G(i) protein and possibly a G(q) protein during S phase. These signaling mechanisms differentially modulate the activities of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and the apical Na(+)/H(+) exchanger, effector molecules that play important roles in transepithelial Na(+) transport. Cloning of CT receptors has revealed the presence of alternatively spliced cassettes, resulting in the expression of different isoforms of the receptor. The availability of these recombinant CT receptors has allowed preliminary characterization of the effects of changes in the receptor's structure on its ligand binding and signal transduction properties. Thus, the cellular and molecular biology of CT is complex, with several structurally related peptide ligands and multiple isoforms of the CT receptor that can independently activate diverse signaling pathways. As the recent exciting results in this field are extended, we can expect rapid progress in understanding the molecular basis of the diverse effects of CT and, possibly, of the CT-related peptides CGRP and amylin.