Since last decade real-time qPCR has become a routine and robust approach for measuring the expression of genes of interest. Indeed, using qPCR, expression profile analyses are now possible and participate to the understanding of physiological or pathological role of channels such as calcium release-activated channels (CRAC). Initially discovered in lymphocyte T and immunity perturbations, recent studies have highlighted the role of CRAC channels in other pathologies such as cancer. Here we describe a protocol to quantify CRAC components expression, in tissue sample and cell lines, to validate knockdown strategies or identify their roles in physiological and pathological conditions (Hoth and Penner, J Physiol 465:359-386, 1993; Hoth and Penner, Nature 355:353-356, 1992; and Zweifach and Lewis, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90:6295-6299, 1993).
Keywords: Expression profile; ORAI; STIM; qPCR.