The role of mitochondria in regulating cellular Ca²⁺ homeostasis is crucial for the understanding of different cellular functions in physiological and pathological conditions. Nevertheless, the study of this aspect was severely limited by the lack of the molecular identity of the proteins responsible for mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake. In 2011, the discovery of the gene encoding for the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU), the selective channel responsible for mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake, gave rise to an explosion of studies aimed to characterize the composition, the regulation of the channel and its pathophysiological roles. Here, we summarize the recent discoveries on the molecular structure and composition of the MCU complex by providing new insights into the mechanisms that regulate MCU channel activity.

线粒体在调节细胞 Ca ²⁺稳态中的作用对于理解生理和病理条件下的不同细胞功能至关重要。然而，这方面的研究由于缺乏负责线粒体 Ca ²⁺摄取的蛋白质的分子特性而受到严重限制。2011 年，发现了编码线粒体钙单向转运蛋白 (MCU) 的基因，这是负责线粒体 Ca ²⁺的选择性通道吸收，引起了大量研究，旨在表征通道的组成、调节及其病理生理作用。在这里，我们通过对调节 MCU 通道活动的机制提供新的见解，总结了 MCU 复合物的分子结构和组成的最新发现。