Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is a ubiquitous mechanism for Ca2+ influx in mammalian cells with important physiological implications. Since the discovery of SOCE more than three decades ago, the mechanism that communicates the information about the amount of Ca2+ accumulated in the intracellular Ca2+ stores to the plasma membrane channels and the nature of these channels have been matters of intense investigation and debate. The stromal interaction molecule-1 (STIM1) has been identified as the Ca2+ sensor of the intracellular Ca2+ compartments that activates the store-operated channels. STIM1 regulates two types of store-dependent channels: the Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels, formed by Orai1 subunits, that conduct the highly Ca2+ selective current I CRAC and the cation permeable store-operated Ca2+ (SOC) channels, which consist of Orai1 and TRPC1 proteins and conduct the non-selective current I SOC. While the crystal structure of Drosophila CRAC channel has already been solved, the architecture of the SOC channels still remains unclear. The dynamic interaction of STIM1 with the store-operated channels is modulated by a number of proteins that either support the formation of the functional STIM1-channel complex or protect the cell against Ca2+ overload.
Keywords: CRAC; Orai; SOCE; STIM; Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels.