Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-isoform diversity in cell death and survival

Cell-death and -survival decisions are critically controlled by intracellular Ca^2 + homeostasis and dynamics at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃) receptors (IP₃Rs) play a pivotal role in these processes by mediating Ca^2 + flux from the ER into the cytosol and mitochondria. Hence, it is clear that many pro-survival and pro-death signaling pathways and proteins affect Ca^2 + signaling by directly targeting IP₃R channels, which can happen in an IP₃R-isoform-dependent manner. In this review, we will focus on how the different IP₃R isoforms (IP₃R1, IP₃R2 and IP₃R3) control cell death and survival. First, we will present an overview of the isoform-specific regulation of IP₃Rs by cellular factors like IP₃, Ca^2 +, Ca^2 +-binding proteins, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thiol modification, phosphorylation and interacting proteins, and of IP₃R-isoform specific expression patterns. Second, we will discuss the role of the ER as a Ca^2 + store in cell death and survival and how IP₃Rs and pro-survival/pro-death proteins can modulate the basal ER Ca^2 + leak. Third, we will review the regulation of the Ca^2 +-flux properties of the IP₃R isoforms by the ER-resident and by the cytoplasmic proteins involved in cell death and survival as well as by redox regulation. Hence, we aim to highlight the specific roles of the various IP₃R isoforms in cell-death and -survival signaling. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Calcium signaling in health and disease. Guest Editors: Geert Bultynck, Jacques Haiech, Claus W. Heizmann, Joachim Krebs, and Marc Moreau.     

At the right distance: ER-mitochondria juxtaposition in cell life and death

The interface between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum is emerging as a crucial hub for calcium signalling, apoptosis, autophagy and lipid biosynthesis, with far reaching implications in cell life and death and in the regulation of mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum function. Here we review our current knowledge on the structural and functional aspects of this interorganellar juxtaposition. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Calcium Signaling In Health and Disease. Guest Editors: Geert Bultynck, Jacques Haiech, Claus W. Heizmann, Joachim Krebs, and Marc Moreau.     

Participation of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial calcium handling in apoptosis: more than just neighborhood?

Over the past few years, extensive progress has been made in elucidating the role of calcium in the signaling of apoptosis. This has led to the characterization of calcium's role in the induction of apoptosis and in the regulation of effector proteases. In this review, we attempt to summarize the current knowledge regarding a segment of these studies, the interaction between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. This interface has been shown to play a crucial role in transferring agonist induced Ca(2+) signals to mitochondria during physiological processes. Recent evidence, however, extended the role of this Ca(2+) transfer to apoptotic pathways, showing that modulation of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake from the ER side has a prominent role in modulating cellular fate.     

Altered Ca signaling in cancer cells: Proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors targeting IP3 receptors

Proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors critically control cell-fate decisions like cell survival, adaptation and death. These processes are regulated by Ca^2 + signals arising from the endoplasmic reticulum, which at distinct sites is in close proximity to the mitochondria. These organelles are linked by different mechanisms, including Ca^2 +-transport mechanisms involving the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP₃R) and the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC). The amount of Ca^2 + transfer from the endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria determines the susceptibility of cells to apoptotic stimuli. Suppressing the transfer of Ca^2 + from the endoplasmic reticulum to the mitochondria increases the apoptotic resistance of cells and may decrease the cellular responsiveness to apoptotic signaling in response to cellular damage or alterations. This can result in the survival, growth and proliferation of cells with oncogenic features. Clearly, proper maintenance of endoplasmic reticulum Ca^2 + homeostasis and dynamics including its links with the mitochondrial network is essential to detect and eliminate altered cells with oncogenic features through the apoptotic pathway. Proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors exploit the central role of Ca^2 + signaling by targeting the IP₃R. There are an increasing number of reports showing that activation of proto-oncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressors directly affects IP₃R function and endoplasmic reticulum Ca^2 + homeostasis, thereby decreasing mitochondrial Ca^2 + uptake and mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization. In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on the proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors identified as IP₃R-regulatory proteins and how they affect endoplasmic reticulum Ca^2 + homeostasis and dynamics.     

MCU Up‐regulation contributes to myocardial ischemia‐reperfusion Injury through calpain/OPA‐1–mediated mitochondrial fusion/mitophagy Inhibition

Mitochondrial dynamic disorder is involved in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. To explore the effect of mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) on mitochondrial dynamic imbalance under I/R and its related signal pathways, a mouse myocardial I/R model and hypoxia/reoxygenation model of mouse cardiomyocytes were established. The expression of MCU during I/R increased and related to myocardial injury, enhancement of mitochondrial fission, inhibition of mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy. Suppressing MCU functions by Ru360 during I/R could reduce myocardial infarction area and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, alleviate mitochondrial fission and restore mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy. However, spermine administration, which could enhance MCU function, deteriorated the above‐mentioned myocardial cell injury and mitochondrial dynamic imbalanced. In addition, up‐regulation of MCU promoted the expression and activation of calpain‐1/2 and down‐regulated the expression of Optic atrophy type 1 (OPA1). Meantime, in transgenic mice (overexpression calpastatin, the endogenous inhibitor of calpain) I/R model and OPA1 knock‐down cultured cell. In I/R models of transgenic mice over‐expressing calpastatin, which is the endogenous inhibitor of calpain, and in H/R models with siOPA1 transfection, inhibition of calpains could enhance mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy, and inhibit excessive mitochondrion fission and apoptosis through OPA1. Therefore, we conclude that during I/R, MCU up‐regulation induces calpain activation, which down‐regulates OPA1, consequently leading to mitochondrial dynamic imbalance.     

Mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex modulation in cancerogenesis

Aberrations in mitochondrial Ca²⁺ homeostasis have been associated with different pathological conditions, including neurological defects, cardiovascular diseases, and, in the last years, cancer. With the recent molecular identification of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex, the channel that allows Ca²⁺ accumulation into the mitochondrial matrix, alterations in the expression levels or functioning in one or more MCU complex members have been linked to different cancers and cancer-related phenotypes. In this review, we will analyze the role of the uniporter and mitochondrial Ca²⁺ derangements in modulating cancer cell sensitivity to death, invasiveness, and migratory capacity, as well as cancer progression in vivo. We will also discuss some critical points and contradictory results to highlight the consequence of MCU complex modulation in tumor development.     

ERp57 modulates mitochondrial calcium uptake through the MCU

ERp57 participates in the regulation of calcium homeostasis. Although ERp57 modulates calcium flux across the plasma membrane and the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, its functions on mitochondria are largely unknown. Here, we found that ERp57 can regulate the expression of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) and modulate mitochondrial calcium uptake. In ERp57-silenced HeLa cells, MCU was downregulated, and the mitochondrial calcium uptake was inhibited, consistent with the effect of MCU knockdown. When MCU was re-expressed in the ERp57 knockdown cells, mitochondrial calcium uptake was restored. Thus, ERp57 is a potent regulator of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis.     

The mRNA Decay Factor CAR-1/LSM14 Regulates Axon Regeneration via Mitochondrial Calcium Dynamics

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The dual face of connexin-based astroglial Ca communication: A key player in brain physiology and a prime target in pathology

For decades, studies have been focusing on the neuronal abnormalities that accompany neurodegenerative disorders. Yet, glial cells are emerging as important players in numerous neurological diseases. Astrocytes, the main type of glia in the central nervous system , form extensive networks that physically and functionally connect neuronal synapses with cerebral blood vessels. Normal brain functioning strictly depends on highly specialized cellular cross-talk between these different partners to which Ca^2 +, as a signaling ion, largely contributes. Altered intracellular Ca^2 + levels are associated with neurodegenerative disorders and play a crucial role in the glial responses to injury. Intracellular Ca^2 + increases in single astrocytes can be propagated toward neighboring cells as intercellular Ca^2 + waves, thereby recruiting a larger group of cells. Intercellular Ca²⁺ wave propagation depends on two, parallel, connexin (Cx) channel-based mechanisms: i) the diffusion of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate through gap junction channels that directly connect the cytoplasm of neighboring cells, and ii) the release of paracrine messengers such as glutamate and ATP through hemichannels (‘half of a gap junction channel’). This review gives an overview of the current knowledge on Cx-mediated Ca^2 + communication among astrocytes as well as between astrocytes and other brain cell types in physiology and pathology, with a focus on the processes of neurodegeneration and reactive gliosis. Research on Cx-mediated astroglial Ca^2 + communication may ultimately shed light on the development of targeted therapies for neurodegenerative disorders in which astrocytes participate. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Calcium signaling in health and disease. Guest Editors: Geert Bultynck, Jacques Haiech, Claus W. Heizmann, Joachim Krebs, and Marc Moreau.