Crosstalk among Calcium ATPases: PMCA, SERCA and SPCA in Mental Diseases

Calcium in mammalian neurons is essential for developmental processes, neurotransmitter release, apoptosis, and signal transduction. Incorrectly processed Ca2+ signal is well-known to trigger a cascade of events leading to altered response to variety of stimuli and persistent accumulation of pathological changes at the molecular level. To counterbalance potentially detrimental consequences of Ca2+, neurons are equipped with sophisticated mechanisms that function to keep its concentration in a tightly regulated range. Calcium pumps belonging to the P-type family of ATPases: plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA), sarco/endoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) and secretory pathway Ca2+-ATPase (SPCA) are considered efficient line of defense against abnormal Ca2+ rises. However, their role is not limited only to Ca2+ transport, as they present tissue-specific functionality and unique sensitive to the regulation by the main calcium signal decoding protein-calmodulin (CaM). Based on the available literature, in this review we analyze the contribution of these three types of Ca2+-ATPases to neuropathology, with a special emphasis on mental diseases.

Automated summary

Calcium plays crucial roles in mammalian neurons, with its concentration tightly regulated by calcium pumps to prevent detrimental consequences. These pumps not only transport calcium ions but also have tissue-specific functionalities and are regulated by calmodulin.