NAADP: From Discovery to Mechanism

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide 2'-phosphate (NAADP) is a naturally occurring nucleotide that has been shown to be involved in the release of Ca²⁺ from intracellular stores in a wide variety of cell types, tissues and organisms. Current evidence suggests that NAADP may function as a trigger to initiate a Ca²⁺ signal that is then amplified by other Ca²⁺ release mechanisms. A fundamental question that remains unanswered is the identity of the NAADP receptor. Our recent studies have identified HN1L/JPT2 as a high affinity NAADP binding protein that is essential for the modulation of Ca²⁺ channels.