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Comment
. 2015 Apr 16;58(2):197-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.04.003.

Calcium signals tune the fidelity of transcriptional responses

Yandong Zhou  1 , Mohamed Trebak  1 , Donald L Gill  2
Affiliations
Comment

Calcium signals tune the fidelity of transcriptional responses

Yandong Zhou et al. Mol Cell. .

Abstract

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Kar and Parekh (2015) reveal the remarkable intricacy and accuracy of Ca(2+) signals in differentially controlling the function of closely related transcription factors.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transcriptional control through integrated Ca2+ signal transduction pathways. (A) In a resting cell, cytoplasmic Ca2+ is maintained at approximately 100 nM (blue) by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ pumps (EP) and plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+ pumps (PP). Ca2+ levels outside the cell and within the ER lumen and nuclear envelope (NE) are much higher, approximately 1 mM (yellow). Components of the Ca2+ signaling pathway include tyrosine kinase receptors (TKR), phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), G protein q (Gq), phospholipase C-β (PLC-β), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), InsP3 receptor (IP3R), STIM proteins (STIM), Orai channels (Or), calmodulin (CaM), calcineurin (CN), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT1 and NFAT4) shown in their cytoplasmic, phosphorylated state. (B) A cell in which Ca2+ signals are induced by maximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists, inducing PIP2 breakdown to release high levels of InsP3 which activates large pulsatile ER Ca2+ release through InsP3Rs, manifested as global Ca2+ oscillations that traverse the cytoplasm to activate cellular responses. The cytosolic Ca2+ pulses penetrate within the nucleoplasmic space through permeable nuclear envelope pores. Ca2+ release from ER, depletes luminal stored Ca2+ (grey shading). STIM proteins, widely distributed across ER in the resting state, become activated and translocate into ER-PM junctions where they contact the PM and expose an Orai channel binding domain that tethers and gates Orai channels to allow Ca2+ to enter the cytosol. The Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry provides highly localized Ca2+ signals (within a few nm of the PM; yellow shading). The entering Ca2+ binds to CaM and triggers CN association and activates CN phosphatase activity which dephosphorylates NFAT1 and NFAT4 exposing nuclear import signal sequences. The dephosphorylated NFAT1 and NFAT4 molecules enter the nucleus wherein they each target distinct arrays of genes. The continuation of Ca2+ signals induces retention of NFAT molecules in the nucleus and prolonged gene expression. (C) A cell in which submaximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists induces modest InsP3 levels and smaller, less frequent pulses of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm. STIM and Orai proteins are still activated, albeit to a lower extent, and Ca2+ entry triggers NFAT1 and NFAT4 phosphorylation and nuclear import. Within the nucleus, the smaller pulsatile rises in Ca2+ are insufficient to retain NFAT4, but NFAT1 remains activated in the nucleus despite the lower nucleoplasmic Ca2+. The lower nuclear Ca2+ may specifically trigger an increased rate of phosphorylation and faster export of NFAT4 from the nucleus compared to NFAT1. Since NFAT1 and NFAT4 target different genes, the pattern of transcription is tuned by both the Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry, and the frequency of Ca2+ pulses released from ER.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Transcriptional control through integrated Ca2+ signal transduction pathways. (A) In a resting cell, cytoplasmic Ca2+ is maintained at approximately 100 nM (blue) by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ pumps (EP) and plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+ pumps (PP). Ca2+ levels outside the cell and within the ER lumen and nuclear envelope (NE) are much higher, approximately 1 mM (yellow). Components of the Ca2+ signaling pathway include tyrosine kinase receptors (TKR), phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), G protein q (Gq), phospholipase C-β (PLC-β), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), InsP3 receptor (IP3R), STIM proteins (STIM), Orai channels (Or), calmodulin (CaM), calcineurin (CN), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT1 and NFAT4) shown in their cytoplasmic, phosphorylated state. (B) A cell in which Ca2+ signals are induced by maximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists, inducing PIP2 breakdown to release high levels of InsP3 which activates large pulsatile ER Ca2+ release through InsP3Rs, manifested as global Ca2+ oscillations that traverse the cytoplasm to activate cellular responses. The cytosolic Ca2+ pulses penetrate within the nucleoplasmic space through permeable nuclear envelope pores. Ca2+ release from ER, depletes luminal stored Ca2+ (grey shading). STIM proteins, widely distributed across ER in the resting state, become activated and translocate into ER-PM junctions where they contact the PM and expose an Orai channel binding domain that tethers and gates Orai channels to allow Ca2+ to enter the cytosol. The Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry provides highly localized Ca2+ signals (within a few nm of the PM; yellow shading). The entering Ca2+ binds to CaM and triggers CN association and activates CN phosphatase activity which dephosphorylates NFAT1 and NFAT4 exposing nuclear import signal sequences. The dephosphorylated NFAT1 and NFAT4 molecules enter the nucleus wherein they each target distinct arrays of genes. The continuation of Ca2+ signals induces retention of NFAT molecules in the nucleus and prolonged gene expression. (C) A cell in which submaximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists induces modest InsP3 levels and smaller, less frequent pulses of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm. STIM and Orai proteins are still activated, albeit to a lower extent, and Ca2+ entry triggers NFAT1 and NFAT4 phosphorylation and nuclear import. Within the nucleus, the smaller pulsatile rises in Ca2+ are insufficient to retain NFAT4, but NFAT1 remains activated in the nucleus despite the lower nucleoplasmic Ca2+. The lower nuclear Ca2+ may specifically trigger an increased rate of phosphorylation and faster export of NFAT4 from the nucleus compared to NFAT1. Since NFAT1 and NFAT4 target different genes, the pattern of transcription is tuned by both the Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry, and the frequency of Ca2+ pulses released from ER.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Transcriptional control through integrated Ca2+ signal transduction pathways. (A) In a resting cell, cytoplasmic Ca2+ is maintained at approximately 100 nM (blue) by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ pumps (EP) and plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+ pumps (PP). Ca2+ levels outside the cell and within the ER lumen and nuclear envelope (NE) are much higher, approximately 1 mM (yellow). Components of the Ca2+ signaling pathway include tyrosine kinase receptors (TKR), phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), G protein q (Gq), phospholipase C-β (PLC-β), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), InsP3 receptor (IP3R), STIM proteins (STIM), Orai channels (Or), calmodulin (CaM), calcineurin (CN), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT1 and NFAT4) shown in their cytoplasmic, phosphorylated state. (B) A cell in which Ca2+ signals are induced by maximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists, inducing PIP2 breakdown to release high levels of InsP3 which activates large pulsatile ER Ca2+ release through InsP3Rs, manifested as global Ca2+ oscillations that traverse the cytoplasm to activate cellular responses. The cytosolic Ca2+ pulses penetrate within the nucleoplasmic space through permeable nuclear envelope pores. Ca2+ release from ER, depletes luminal stored Ca2+ (grey shading). STIM proteins, widely distributed across ER in the resting state, become activated and translocate into ER-PM junctions where they contact the PM and expose an Orai channel binding domain that tethers and gates Orai channels to allow Ca2+ to enter the cytosol. The Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry provides highly localized Ca2+ signals (within a few nm of the PM; yellow shading). The entering Ca2+ binds to CaM and triggers CN association and activates CN phosphatase activity which dephosphorylates NFAT1 and NFAT4 exposing nuclear import signal sequences. The dephosphorylated NFAT1 and NFAT4 molecules enter the nucleus wherein they each target distinct arrays of genes. The continuation of Ca2+ signals induces retention of NFAT molecules in the nucleus and prolonged gene expression. (C) A cell in which submaximal levels of TKR or GPCR agonists induces modest InsP3 levels and smaller, less frequent pulses of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm. STIM and Orai proteins are still activated, albeit to a lower extent, and Ca2+ entry triggers NFAT1 and NFAT4 phosphorylation and nuclear import. Within the nucleus, the smaller pulsatile rises in Ca2+ are insufficient to retain NFAT4, but NFAT1 remains activated in the nucleus despite the lower nucleoplasmic Ca2+. The lower nuclear Ca2+ may specifically trigger an increased rate of phosphorylation and faster export of NFAT4 from the nucleus compared to NFAT1. Since NFAT1 and NFAT4 target different genes, the pattern of transcription is tuned by both the Orai-mediated Ca2+ entry, and the frequency of Ca2+ pulses released from ER.
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