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Calcium signalling is activated by calcium ions that are released from intracellular stores, or enter the cell via plasma membrane ion channels. Calcium is an important second messenger that regulates many cellular activities, including fertilisation, secretion, neurotransmission and cell migration.
A multidisciplinary approach suggests the importance of cellular geometry in modulating calcium signals in breast cancer cells via the PIEZO1 force sensing channel which is also associated with breast cancer cell plasticity.
A study of calcium homeostasis in the plant Arabidopsis reveals two signalling pathways it uses to balance the objectives of growth and immunity by regulating the level of Ca2+ in the cytosol.
Contact between organelles such as the mitochondria (Mito) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is crucial to coordinate vital cellular homeostatic processes. Here we discuss recent work showing that Mito-ER proximity is regulated by heterotypic complexes between the F-actin polymerizing protein Diaphanous-1) and the mitochondrial dynamics protein Mitofusin 2, which confers increased susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury.
A new study collaboratively delivered by Valentina Greco’s and Smita Krishnaswamy’s labs provides new insight into patterns of calcium signalling in epithelial tissues using intravital imaging of the basal layer of the mouse epidermis.
The increased tissue stiffness that results from the presence of Aβ aggregates activates microglial mechanosensitive PIEZO1 channels and drives Aβ engulfment, reducing plaque burden, synapse loss and spatial memory impairment in mice.
Zheng et al. show that calcium transients at the endoplasmic reticulum surface trigger condensation of FIP200 and the formation of ULK1 assemblies for autophagosome biogenesis.
Steinhorst et al. show how calcium signal induced by salt stress is ‘decoded’ by plant roots to provide systemic response and to increase salt tolerance.
