Expanding the store-operated Ca²⁺ entry microdomain through Ca²⁺ tunneling

Ca²⁺ is unique among second messenger in terms of its spatial and temporal breadth. On the spatial level Ca²⁺ signals extend from nm to cm scales (seven orders of magnitude), and in the temporal dimension it signals in the range of μsec to hours (nine orders of magnitude). Furthermore, Ca²⁺ activates with exquisite specificity diverse, often opposing, cellular events. How Ca²⁺ achieves such a broad spatial and temporal coverage while maintaining signaling specificity is an area of active research with cell type specific nuances. Here, we discuss one modality of Ca²⁺ signaling that operates downstream of store-operated Ca²⁺ entry (SOCE), known as Ca²⁺ tunneling, that expands SOCE signaling while maintaining specificity. We focus on recent findings that argue that Ca²⁺ tunneling has been adapted for cortical signaling.

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Published in: Current Opinion in Physiology
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cophys.2020.08.015