Calcium is one of the most important minerals for both body and cellular functions.
But the way it controls the quality of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a cellular organelle that synthesizes and transports proteins, is largely unknown.
This protein quality control system, known as proteostasis, was scrutinized by researchers to gain a better understanding of the process, potentially revealing clues about how to prevent type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)..
The team included researchers from multiple disciplines, led by Distinguished Associate Professor Masaki Okumura from the Tohoku University Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) and the Graduate School of Life Sciences, in an international collaboration with 17 research teams from Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom.
After the research was published in Nature cell biology it was revealed that the team’s goal was to clarify how the protein control system functions through calcium.
It was discovered that calcium induces the correct folding of proteins due to its functionality. Folding a protein is essentially the formation of a specific, stable 3D shape that later becomes important for body processes.
Therefore, if this protein loses its function, misfolding may occur. The consequences for misfolded proteins can be serious, such as diabetes or ALS.
However, not all is lost when errors occur in protein folding. They found that a process called ‘calcium-driven phase separation’ in the ER essentially creates liquid-like droplets through condensation that can make corrections to the misfolded proteins.
This knowledge gives us a better understanding of other calcium-driven processes in our body cells and how important the mineral is to us.
Furthermore, this research could be used in the potential development of drugs for difficult-to-cure diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s and Type 2 diabetes.
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells (motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord, causing voluntary muscles to weaken, waste away, and eventually lose full movement in the body, leading to paralysis.
What is type 2 diabetes?
It is a condition in which your body becomes insensitive to insulin or does not produce enough insulin (an enzyme that regulates blood sugar levels).
The insufficiency or insensitivity to insulin causes your blood sugar levels to rise because sugar is not absorbed into the cells for energy.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys your memory and motor skills due to the deterioration of the cranial nerves.
