Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-isoform diversity in cell death and survival

• IP3Rs are ubiquitously expressed intracellular Ca2 +-release channels.
• The 3 different IP3R isoforms are expressed in a cell- and tissue-specific manner.
• IP3R isoform-expression levels are changed during development and differentiation.
• IP3R isoforms are differentially regulated by various factors, including cell death regulators.

Cell-death and -survival decisions are critically controlled by intracellular Ca2 + homeostasis and dynamics at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3Rs) play a pivotal role in these processes by mediating Ca2 + flux from the ER into the cytosol and mitochondria. Hence, it is clear that many pro-survival and pro-death signaling pathways and proteins affect Ca2 + signaling by directly targeting IP3R channels, which can happen in an IP3R-isoform-dependent manner. In this review, we will focus on how the different IP3R isoforms (IP3R1, IP3R2 and IP3R3) control cell death and survival. First, we will present an overview of the isoform-specific regulation of IP3Rs by cellular factors like IP3, Ca2 +, Ca2 +-binding proteins, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thiol modification, phosphorylation and interacting proteins, and of IP3R-isoform specific expression patterns. Second, we will discuss the role of the ER as a Ca2 + store in cell death and survival and how IP3Rs and pro-survival/pro-death proteins can modulate the basal ER Ca2 + leak. Third, we will review the regulation of the Ca2 +-flux properties of the IP3R isoforms by the ER-resident and by the cytoplasmic proteins involved in cell death and survival as well as by redox regulation. Hence, we aim to highlight the specific roles of the various IP3R isoforms in cell-death and -survival signaling. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Calcium signaling in health and disease. Guest Editors: Geert Bultynck, Jacques Haiech, Claus W. Heizmann, Joachim Krebs, and Marc Moreau.