title: Optogenetic toolkit for precise control of calcium signaling.
abstract: Calcium acts as a second messenger to regulate a myriad of cell functions, ranging from short-term muscle contraction and cell motility to long-term changes in gene expression and metabolism. To study the impact of Ca2+-modulated 'ON' and 'OFF' reactions in mammalian cells, pharmacological tools and 'caged' compounds are commonly used under various experimental conditions. The use of these reagents for precise control of Ca2+signals, nonetheless, is impeded by lack of reversibility and specificity. The recently developed optogenetic tools, particularly those built upon engineered Ca2+release-activated Ca2+(CRAC) channels, provide exciting opportunities to remotely and non-invasively modulate Ca2+signaling due to their superior spatiotemporal resolution and rapid reversibility. In this review, we briefly summarize the latest advances in the development of optogenetic tools (collectively termed as 'genetically encoded Ca2+actuators', or GECAs) that are tailored for the interrogation of Ca2+signaling, as well as their applications in remote neuromodulation and optogenetic immunomodulation. Our goal is to provide a general guide to choosing appropriate GECAs for optical control of Ca2+signaling in cellulo, and in parallel, to stimulate further thoughts on evolving non-opsin-based optogenetics into a fully fledged technology for the study of Ca2+-dependent activities in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Cancer Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Guolin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Cancer Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Shufan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Cancer Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Center for Epigenetics and Disease Prevention, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, TX 77807, USA.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: wyoujun@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Youjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Cancer Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine Texas A&M University, Temple, TX 76504, USA, USA. Electronic address: yzhou@ibt.tamhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Yubin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D006801:Humans; D062308:Optogenetics / Q000379:methods*; D000071737:Stromal Interaction Molecule 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D010738:Type C Phospholipases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000071737:Stromal Interaction Molecule 1; D010738:Type C Phospholipases; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channel; Calcium signaling; Cryptochrome; Genetically-encoded calcium actuator (GECA); LOV2; Optogenetics