The molecular choreography of a store-operated calcium channel.
Store-operated calcium channels (SOCs) serve essential functions from secretion and motility to gene expression and cell growth. A fundamental mystery is how the depletion of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activates Ca2+ entry through SOCs in the plasma membrane. Recent studies using genetic approaches have identified genes encoding the ER Ca2+ sensor and a prototypic SOC, the Ca2+-release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel. New findings reveal a unique mechanism for channel activation, in which the CRAC channel and its sensor migrate independently to closely apposed sites of interaction in the ER and the plasma membrane.
Lewis
Richard S
RS
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA. rslewis@stanford.edu
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D015220:Calcium Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D002118:Calcium