Lysosomal Ca2+ Homeostasis and Signaling in Health and Disease.

Abstract

Calcium (Ca2+) signaling is an essential process in all cells that is maintained by a plethora of channels, pumps, transporters, receptors, and intracellular Ca2+ sequestering stores. Changes in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration govern processes as far reaching as fertilization, cell growth, and motility through to cell death. In recent years, lysosomes have emerged as a major intracellular Ca2+ storage organelle with an increasing involvement in triggering or regulating cellular functions such as endocytosis, autophagy, and Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum. This review will summarize recent work in the area of lysosomal Ca2+ signaling and homeostasis, including newly identified functions, and the involvement of lysosome-derived Ca2+ signals in human disease. In addition, we explore recent controversies in the techniques used for measurement of lysosomal Ca2+ content.