Homeostatic SOCE prevents complex cell stress responses

We report the application of bulk RNA-seq for detection of changes in the mRNA-transcriptome of cultured primary, cortical astrocytes when homeostatic calcium fluxes are modulated. We investigated three conditions: (1) control (2) glial cells treated with thapsigargin, a blocker of the SERCA. This causes the depletion of ER calcium and induces store-operated calcium entry (SOCE). (3) Calcium-free extracellular solution. This causes an acute interruption of homeostatic calcium influx and thereby also causes ER calcium depletion. The aim was to detect immediate changes in the cellular transcriptome. Therefore, we treated the cells for just 60 min with the different conditions. The data show that about 8% (calcium-free condition) or 16% (SERCA blockade) of the whole mRNA transcriptome is changed within one hour, when homeostatic calcium fluxes are affected. Regulated are biological processes associated with cell health, differentiation, metabolism, ER stress responses, gene expression, and many more processes.