Scientists review current knowledge of the role of calcium-sensing receptor in immune cells

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Mar 29 2021

In a new publication from Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications, Wenxiu Liu, Yutong Guo, Yue Liu, Jiaxing Sun and Xinhua Yin from The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang, China consider calcium-sensing receptors of immune cells and diseases.

The authors review current knowledge of the role of CaSR in immune cells. Calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which was initially found in the parathyroid gland, is ubiquitously expressed and exerts specific functions in multiple cells, including immune cells.

CaSR is functionally expressed on neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages, and T lymphocytes, but not B lymphocytes, and regulates cell functions, such as cytokine secretion, chemotaxis, phenotype switching, and ligand delivery.

In these immune cells, CaSR is involved in the development of many diseases, such as sepsis, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, rheumatism, myocardial infarction, diabetes, and peripheral artery disease. Since its discovery, it has been controversial whether CaSR is expressed and plays a role in immune cells.