The endoplasmic reticulum, not the pH gradient, drives calcium refilling of lysosomes

Impaired homeostasis of lysosomal Ca(2+) causes lysosome dysfunction and lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), but the mechanisms by which lysosomes acquire and refill Ca(2+) are not known. We developed a physiological assay to monitor lysosomal Ca(2+) store refilling using specific activators of lysosomal Ca(2+) channels to repeatedly induce lysosomal Ca(2+) release. In contrast to the prevailing view that lysosomal acidification drives Ca(2+) into the lysosome, inhibiting the V-ATPase H(+) pump did not prevent Ca(2+) refilling. Instead, pharmacological depletion or chelation of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) prevented lysosomal Ca(2+) stores from refilling. More specifically, antagonists of ER IP3 receptors (IP3Rs) rapidly and completely blocked Ca(2+) refilling of lysosomes, but not in cells lacking IP3Rs. Furthermore, reducing ER Ca(2+) or blocking IP3Rs caused a dramatic LSD-like lysosome storage phenotype. By closely apposing each other, the ER may serve as a direct and primary source of Ca(2+)for the lysosome. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15887.001