Lighting a spark from the lysosome

Abstract

Calcium Signaling Calcium ion (Ca2+) sparks in vascular smooth muscle cells are critical for blood vessel dilation and for regulating blood pressure. Thakore et al. showed that these Ca2+ sparks were initiated by Ca2+ released from lysosomes through the cation channel TRPML1 (see the Focus by Nieves-Cintron et al. ). Lysosomes in contractile vascular smooth muscle cells were localized in close proximity to this ion channel. Vascular smooth muscle cells from mice deficient in TRPML1 did not generate Ca2+ sparks, and these mice were spontaneously hypertensive. Sci. Signal. 13 , eaba1015, eabc0993 (2020).