Orai channel pore properties and gating by STIM: implications from the Orai crystal structure.

ABSTRACT: The Orai channels are unusual, yet prominent, calcium (Ca2+) signal mediators in most cell types. Orai proteins are structurally unique, having little sequence homology with other ion channels. They are also functionally unique with exceedingly high selectivity for Ca2+, mediating both short-term Ca2+ homeostasis and long-term Ca2+ signals important for transcriptional control. Operating in the plasma membrane (PM), Orai channel regulation is unprecedented among ion channels; channel gating occurs through an elaborate intermembrane coupling with stromal interaction molecule (STIM) proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). STIM proteins function as sensors of Ca2+ stored in the ER lumen and translocate into ER-PM junctions to tether and activate Orai channels when ER Ca2+ concentration de

SUBMITTER: Rothberg BS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4746713 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature