Published in Journal of General Physiology a Commentary describing the scientific importance of a recent discovery at CAST:

Calcium Entry Units (CEUs) are new intracellular junctions identified by the laboratory directed by Feliciano Protasi  (FP), and that have been presented to the (initially sceptical) scientific community of excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) in 3 main publications between 2017-2020 (Scientific Reports, e-Life, and Journal of General Physiology).  This Commentary suggests that CEUs  should be finally recognized as the sites for communication of the 2 proteins mediating Store-Operated Calcium Entry (SOCE) in muscle,  STIM1 and Orai1.

SOCE is a mechanism that plays an important role in limiting muscle fatigue during repetitive stimulation. Dysfunction in SOCE and mutations in STIM1 and Orai1 have been involved in diverse forms of muscle dysfunction, including ageing and several debilitating myopathies. The investigation of these diseases is supported at CAST by the Italian Telethon Foundation  (Project n. GGP 19231 to FP).