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BIO DESIGN

pISSN 2288-6982
eISSN 2288-7105

Article

Article

Mini review

BioDesign 2022; 10(3): 39-45

Published online September 30, 2022

https://doi.org/10.34184/kssb.2022.10.3.39

© Korean Society for Structural Biology

Understanding the structural basis of mitochondrial calcium uptake by mitochondrial calcium uniporter

Jiho Yoo*

Protein Structure and Molecular Biology Laboratory, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to: *jyoo@cau.ac.kr

Received: July 15, 2022; Revised: September 20, 2022; Accepted: September 21, 2022

Abstract

Calcium mediates numerous functions in the human body. The two main organelles that regulate cellular calcium ion concentration are the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Mitochondria take up calcium from the cytosol and regulate calcium-mediated cell signaling pathways. Calcium is involved in two primary mitochondrial functions: apoptosis and cellular respiration. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is the ion channel in the mitochondria for calcium uptake and regulation. After decades of research, the biological characteristics and functions of MCU’s have only recently been elucidated. This review focused on the fundamental role of MCU’s in calcium uptake and its biochemical properties based on its protein structure and aims at helping researchers learn more about how MCU regulates a Ca2+ uptake.