Abstract

Abstract Cunningham and colleagues have reported that the unfolded protein response (UPR) stimulates cellular influx of calcium, thereby activating calcium-dependent proteins such as calcineurin and calmodulin, and that this activation may be important for UPR. However, the authors have more importantly identified that the calcium signal is part of a larger pathway, termed the calcium cell survival (CCS) pathway, which is activated in response to several different types of stress. A key point is that the activation of the calcium-mediated events might lead to drug resistance in pathogenic fungi. Cronin examines these findings and discusses how the CCS might be subverted to render resistant fungi sensitive to treatment.