Sharing calcium opens new avenues of signalling

A consequence of intracellular calcium signalling is that calcium released into the cytosol is extruded from the cell. New research shows that when th e interstitial space is constricted, calcium extruded from one cell may inc rease levels of calcium in the surrounding medium sufficiently to activate calcium-sensing receptors on the surfaces of adjacent cells. Thus, the calc ium that serves as an intracellular signal can also serve as an extracellul ar signal to recruit neighbouring cells.