Calcium signaling participates in a vast number of cellular processes, ranging from the regulation of muscle contraction, cell proliferation, and mitochondrial function, to the regulation of the membrane potential in cells. The actions of calcium signaling are, thus, of great physiological significance for the normal functioning of our cells. However, many of the processes that are regulated by calcium, including cell movement and proliferation, are important in the progression of cancer. In the normal thyroid, calcium signaling plays an important role, and evidence is also being gathered showing that calcium signaling participates in the progression of thyroid cancer. This review will summarize what we know in regard to calcium signaling in the normal thyroid as, well as in thyroid cancer.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder presenting with dangerously low body weight, and a deep and persistent fear of gaining weight. To date, only one genome-wide significant locus associated with AN has been identified. We performed an exome-chip based genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 2158 cases from nine populations of European origin and 15 485 ancestrally matched controls. Unlike previous studies, this GWAS also probed association in low-frequency and rare variants. Sixteen independent variants were taken forward for in silico and de novo replication (11 common and 5 rare). No findings reached genome-wide significance. Two notable common variants were identified: rs10791286, an intronic variant in OPCML (P = 9.89 x 10(-6)), and rs7700147, an intergenic variant (P = 2.93 x 10(-5)). No low-frequency variant associations were identified at genome-wide significance, although the study was well-powered to detect low-frequency variants with large effect sizes, suggesting that there may be no AN loci in this genomic search space with large effect sizes.

Human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hMSCs) are used in experimental cell therapy to treat various immunological disorders, and the extracellular vesicles (hMSC-EVs) they produce have emerged as an option for cell-free therapeutics. The immunomodulatory function of hMSCs resembles the resolution of inflammation, in which proresolving lipid mediators (LMs) play key roles. Multiple mechanisms underlying the hMSC immunosuppressive effect has been elucidated; however, the impact of LMs and EVs in the resolution is poorly understood. In this study, we supplemented hMSCs with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid, which serve as precursors for multiple LMs. We then determined the consequent compositional modifications in the fatty acid, phospholipid, and LM profiles. Mass spectrometric analyses revealed that the supplemented PUFAs were incorporated into the main membrane phospholipid classes with different dynamics, with phosphatidylcholine serving as the first acceptor. Most importantly, the PUFA modifications were transferred into hMSC-EVs, which are known to mediate hMSC immunomodulation. Furthermore, the membrane-incorporated PUFAs influenced the LM profile by increasing the production of downstream prostaglandin E-2 and proresolving LMs, including Resolvin E2 and Resolvin D6. The production of LMs was further enhanced by a highly proinflammatory stimulus, which resulted in an increase in a number of mediators, most notably prostaglandins, while other stimulatory conditions had less a pronounced impact after a 48-h incubation. The current findings suggest that PUFA manipulations of hMSCs exert significant immunomodulatory effects via EVs and proresolving LMs, the composition of which can be modified to potentiate the therapeutic impact of hMSCs.