The present numerical modeling study shows that disorder in locations of Ca release units in cardiac pacemaker cells has substantial functional impact by creating release clusters, similar to Poisson clumping, and opportunity of Ca release to propagate within the clusters.

Epithelial Na⁺ channels are major regulators of fluid volumes and ultimately blood pressure in terrestrial vertebrates. We found that the amounts of protein comprising these channels in the kidneys and colons of rats and mice exceed what is required to explain the transport of Na⁺ by these tissues. This excess may facilitate regulation of the channels.

Postdevelopmental, muscle-specific ablation of Orai1 in mdx mice abolishes excessive constitutive and store-operated Ca²⁺ entry, improves muscular dystrophy pathology, and promotes sarcolemmal integrity, thus demonstrating an important role of enhanced Orai1-mediated Ca²⁺ entry in exacerbating the dystrophic phenotype.

Ca²⁺ release–activated Ca²⁺ (CRAC) channels mediate store-operated Ca²⁺ entry (SOCE) in many nonexcitable cells. In contrast to the CRAC channel subunit ORAI1, its homologue ORAI3 is dispensable for SOCE in lymphocytes and macrophages and not essential for immune cell function.

Piezo2 is a membrane protein that activates in response to mechanical signals and plays key roles in humans. Lipids in the membrane such as cholesterol and phosphoinositides modulate Piezo2’s function. We used computational simulations of Piezo2 in a realistic mammalian membrane to investigate how lipids interact with Piezo2.

The authors develop a stochastic model for calcium influx in dendritic spines in idealized and realistic geometries. Using this model, they show that spine morphology alters calcium transients and synaptic weight updates.

Del Rosario and Gabrielle et al. show that TMEM120A/TACAN inhibits mechanically activated PIEZO2 channels both in heterologous systems and in dorsal root ganglion neurons. TMEM120A does not inhibit PIEZO1 and TREK1 channel activity and its expression alone does not lead to appearance of mechanically activated currents.