Molecular Choreography and Structure of Ca2+ Release-Activated Ca2+ (CRAC) and KCa2+ Channels and Their Relevance in Disease with Special Focus on Cancer.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Tiffner A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7765462 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:NFATs are a family of Ca(2+)-dependent transcription factors that play a central role in the morphogenesis, development, and physiological activities of numerous distinct cell types and organ systems. Here, we visualize NFAT1 movement in and out of the nucleus in response to transient activation of store-operated Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels in nonexcitable cells. We show that NFAT migration is exquisitely sensitive to Ca(2+) microdomains near open CRAC channels. Another Ca(2+)-permeable ion channel (TRPC3) was ineffective in driving NFAT1 to the nucleus. NFAT1 movement is temporally dissociated from the time course of the Ca(2+) signal and remains within the nucleus for 10 times longer than the duration of the trigger Ca(2+) signal. Kinetic analyses of each step linking CRAC channel activation to NFAT1 nuclear residency reveals that the rate-limiting step is transcription factor exit from the nucleus. The slow deactivation of NFAT provides a mechanism whereby Ca(2+)-dependent responses can be sustained despite the termination of the initial Ca(2+) signal and helps explain how gene expression in nonexcitable cells can continue after the primary stimulus has been removed.
| S-EPMC3083208 | biostudies-literature
Project description:STIM1 and ORAI1, the two limiting components in the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) signaling cascade, have been reported to interact upon store depletion, culminating in CRAC current activation. We have recently identified a modulatory domain between amino acids 474 and 485 in the cytosolic part of STIM1 that comprises 7 negatively charged residues. A STIM1 C-terminal fragment lacking this domain exhibits enhanced interaction with ORAI1 and 2-3-fold higher ORAI1/CRAC current densities. Here we focused on the role of this CRAC modulatory domain (CMD) in the fast inactivation of ORAI1/CRAC channels, utilizing the whole-cell patch clamp technique. STIM1 mutants either with C-terminal deletions including CMD or with 7 alanines replacing the negative amino acids within CMD gave rise to ORAI1 currents that displayed significantly reduced or even abolished inactivation when compared with STIM1 mutants with preserved CMD. Consistent results were obtained with cytosolic C-terminal fragments of STIM1, both in ORAI1-expressing HEK 293 cells and in RBL-2H3 mast cells containing endogenous CRAC channels. Inactivation of the latter, however, was much more pronounced than that of ORAI1. The extent of inactivation of ORAI3 channels, which is also considerably more prominent than that of ORAI1, was also substantially reduced by co-expression of STIM1 constructs missing CMD. Regarding the dependence of inactivation on Ca(2+), a decrease in intracellular Ca(2+) chelator concentrations promoted ORAI1 current fast inactivation, whereas Ba(2+) substitution for extracellular Ca(2+) completely abrogated it. In summary, CMD within the STIM1 cytosolic part provides a negative feedback signal to Ca(2+) entry by triggering fast Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation of ORAI/CRAC channels.
| S-EPMC2757196 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Store-operated Ca(2+) entry depends critically on physical interactions of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) sensor stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) and the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel protein Orai1. Recent studies support a diffusion-trap mechanism in which ER Ca(2+) depletion causes STIM1 to accumulate at ER-plasma membrane (PM) junctions, where it binds to Orai1, trapping and activating mobile CRAC channels in the overlying PM. To determine the stoichiometric requirements for CRAC channel trapping and activation, we expressed mCherry-STIM1 and Orai1-GFP at varying ratios in HEK cells and quantified CRAC current (I(CRAC)) activation and the STIM1:Orai1 ratio at ER-PM junctions after store depletion. By competing for a limited amount of STIM1, high levels of Orai1 reduced the junctional STIM1:Orai1 ratio to a lower limit of 0.3-0.6, indicating that binding of one to two STIM1s is sufficient to immobilize the tetrameric CRAC channel at ER-PM junctions. In cells expressing a constant amount of STIM1, CRAC current was a highly nonlinear bell-shaped function of Orai1 expression and the minimum stoichiometry for channel trapping failed to evoke significant activation. Peak current occurred at a ratio of ∼2 STIM1:Orai1, suggesting that maximal CRAC channel activity requires binding of eight STIM1s to each channel. Further increases in Orai1 caused channel activity and fast Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation to decline in parallel. The data are well described by a model in which STIM1 binds to Orai1 with negative cooperativity and channels open with positive cooperativity as a result of stabilization of the open state by STIM1.
| S-EPMC3156176 | biostudies-literature
Project description:CRAC channel-mediated Ca(2+) entry plays a crucial role in T lymphocyte activation. Activated T cells display enhanced Ca(2+) signaling compared with resting T cells; this is partially attributed to activation-induced upregulation of CRAC channel expression. Orai and Stim family genes encode CRAC channel structural elements and regulatory proteins, respectively, but studies of their expression in T cells have led to controversial results. We re-examined Orai and Stim gene expression in resting, activated, and Jurkat T cells. Levels of Orai1 transcripts, encoding the human T cell CRAC channel subunit, were not significantly different between resting T and activated T cells. The total amount of all Orai transcripts was 2-fold higher in activated T cells than in resting T cells. Orai1 and total Orai transcript levels were significantly higher in Jurkat T cells than those in resting T cells. Stim expression did not vary significantly among cell types. Maximal whole-cell CRAC current amplitudes were 1.4-fold and 2.3-fold higher in activated and Jurkat T cells, respectively, than in resting T cells. Due to the small size of resting T cells, the surface CRAC channel density was 2.5-fold and 1.6-fold higher in resting T cells than in activated and Jurkat T cells, respectively. Predicted the rates of cytosolic Ca(2+) elevation calculated using the average values of CRAC channel currents and cell volumes showed that < 2-fold increase in the functional CRAC channel expression level cannot account for the enhanced rate of store-operated Ca(2+) entry in activated T cells compared with resting T cells.
| S-EPMC3265799 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundAntigen stimulation of immune cells triggers Ca2+ entry through Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels, promoting an immune response to pathogens. Defects in a CRAC (Orai) channel in humans gives rise to the hereditary Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) syndrome. We here report results that define the evolutionary relationship of the CRAC channel proteins of animals, and the ubiquitous Cation Diffusion Facilitator (CDF) carrier proteins.FindingsCDF antiporters derived from a primordial 2 transmembrane spanner (TMS) hairpin structure by intragenic triplication to yield 6 TMS proteins. Four programs (IC/GAP, GGSEARCH, HMMER and SAM) were evaluated for identifying sequence similarity and establishing homology using statistical means. Overall, the order of sensitivity (similarity detection) was IC/GAP = GGSEARCH > HMMER > SAM, but the use of all four programs was superior to the use of any two or three of them. Members of the CDF family appeared to be homologous to members of the 4 TMS Orai channel proteins.ConclusionsCRAC channels derived from CDF carriers by loss of the first two TMSs of the latter. Based on statistical analyses with multiple programs, TMSs 3-6 in CDF carriers are homologous to TMSs 1-4 in CRAC channels, and the former was the precursor of the latter. This is an unusual example of how a functionally and structurally more complex protein may have predated a simpler one.
| S-EPMC2894845 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Astrocytes are the major glial subtype in the brain and mediate numerous functions ranging from metabolic support to gliotransmitter release through signaling mechanisms controlled by Ca2+ Despite intense interest, the Ca2+ influx pathways in astrocytes remain obscure, hindering mechanistic insights into how Ca2+ signaling is coupled to downstream astrocyte-mediated effector functions. Here, we identified store-operated Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels encoded by Orai1 and STIM1 as a major route of Ca2+ entry for driving sustained and oscillatory Ca2+ signals in astrocytes after stimulation of metabotropic purinergic and protease-activated receptors. Using synaptopHluorin as an optical reporter, we showed that the opening of astrocyte CRAC channels stimulated vesicular exocytosis to mediate the release of gliotransmitters, including ATP. Furthermore, slice electrophysiological recordings showed that activation of astrocytes by protease-activated receptors stimulated interneurons in the CA1 hippocampus to increase inhibitory postsynaptic currents on CA1 pyramidal cells. These results reveal a central role for CRAC channels as regulators of astrocyte Ca2+ signaling, gliotransmitter release, and astrocyte-mediated tonic inhibition of CA1 pyramidal neurons.
| S-EPMC6837172 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Orai1, the pore subunit of Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) channels, has four transmembrane segments (TMs). The first segment, TMI, lines the pore and plays an important role in channel activation and ion permeation. TMIII, on the other hand, does not line the pore but still regulates channel gating and permeation properties. To understand the role of TMIII, we have mutated and characterized several residues in this domain. Mutation of Trp-176 to Cys (W176C) and Gly-183 to Ala (G183A) had dramatic effects. Unlike wild-type channels, which exhibit little outward current and are activated by STIM1, W176C mutant channels exhibited a large outward current at positive potentials and were constitutively active in the absence of STIM1. G183A mutant channels also exhibited substantial outward currents but were active only in the presence of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), irrespective of STIM1. With W176C mutant channels inward, monovalent currents were blocked by Ca(2+) with a high affinity similar to the wild type, but the Ca(2+)-dependent blocking of outward currents differed in the two cases. Although a 50% block of the WT outward current required 250 μm Ca(2+), more than 6 mm was necessary to have the same effect on W176C mutant channels. In the presence of extracellular Ca(2+), W176C and G183A outward currents developed slowly in a voltage-dependent manner, whereas they developed almost instantaneously in the absence of Ca(2+). These changes in permeation and gating properties mimic the changes induced by mutations of Glu-190 in TMIII and Asp-110/Asp-112 in the TMI/TMII loop. On the basis of these data, we propose that TMIII maintains negatively charged residues at or near the selectivity filter in a conformation that facilitates Ca(2+) inward currents and prevents outward currents of monovalent cations. In addition, to controlling selectivity, TMIII may also stabilize channel gating in a closed state in the absence of STIM1 in a Trp-176-dependent manner.
| S-EPMC3186358 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The G-protein-coupled protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and auto-immune disorders. In airway epithelial cells (AECs), stimulation of PAR2 by allergens and proteases triggers the release of a host of inflammatory mediators to regulate bronchomotor tone and immune cell recruitment. Activation of PAR2 turns on several cell signaling pathways of which the mobilization of cytosolic Ca(2+) is likely a critical but poorly understood event. In this study, we show that Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels encoded by stromal interaction molecule 1 and Orai1 are a major route of Ca(2+) entry in primary human AECs and drive the Ca(2+) elevations seen in response to PAR2 activation. Activation of CRAC channels induces the production of several key inflammatory mediators from AECs including thymic stromal lymphopoietin, IL-6, and PGE2, in part through stimulation of gene expression via nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Furthermore, PAR2 stimulation induces the production of many key inflammatory mediators including PGE2, IL-6, IL-8, and GM-CSF in a CRAC channel-dependent manner. These findings indicate that CRAC channels are the primary mechanism for Ca(2+) influx in AECs and a vital checkpoint for the induction of PAR2-induced proinflammatory cytokines.
| S-EPMC4621783 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) due to activation of Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels leads to sustained elevation of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) and activation of lymphocytes. CRAC channels consisting of four pore-forming Orai1 subunits are activated by STIM1, an endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) sensor that senses intracellular store depletion and migrates to plasma membrane proximal regions to mediate SOCE. One of the fundamental properties of CRAC channels is their Ca(2+)-dependent fast inactivation. To identify the domains of Orai1 involved in fast inactivation, we have mutated residues in the Orai1 intracellular loop linking transmembrane segment II to III. Mutation of four residues, V(151)SNV(154), at the center of the loop (MutA) abrogated fast inactivation, leading to increased SOCE as well as higher CRAC currents. Point mutation analysis identified five key amino acids, N(153)VHNL(157), that increased SOCE in Orai1 null murine embryonic fibroblasts. Expression or direct application of a peptide comprising the entire intracellular loop or the sequence N(153)VHNL(157) blocked CRAC currents from both wild type (WT) and MutA Orai1. A peptide incorporating the MutA mutations had no blocking effect. Concatenated Orai1 constructs with four MutA monomers exhibited high CRAC currents lacking fast inactivation. Reintroduction of a single WT monomer (MutA-MutA-MutA-WT) was sufficient to fully restore fast inactivation, suggesting that only a single intracellular loop can block the channel. These data suggest that the intracellular loop of Orai1 acts as an inactivation particle, which is stabilized in the ion permeation pathway by the N(153)VHNL(157) residues. These results along with recent reports support a model in which the N terminus and the selectivity filter of Orai1 as well as STIM1 act in concert to regulate the movement of the intracellular loop and evoke fast inactivation.
| S-EPMC2836109 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) through the Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel is a central mechanism by which cells generate Ca2+ signals and mediate Ca2+-dependent gene expression. The molecular basis for CRAC channel regulation by the SOCE-associated regulatory factor (SARAF) remained insufficiently understood. Here we found that following ER Ca2+ depletion, SARAF facilitates a conformational change in the ER Ca2+ sensor STIM1 that relieves an activation constraint enforced by the STIM1 inactivation domain (ID; aa 475-483) and promotes initial activation of STIM1, its translocation to ER-plasma membrane junctions, and coupling to Orai1 channels. Following intracellular Ca2+ rise, cooperation between SARAF and the STIM1 ID controls CRAC channel slow Ca2+-dependent inactivation. We further show that in T lymphocytes, SARAF is required for proper T cell receptor evoked transcription. Taking all these data together, we uncover a dual regulatory role for SARAF during both activation and inactivation of CRAC channels and show that SARAF fine-tunes intracellular Ca2+ responses and downstream gene expression in cells.
| S-EPMC8562847 | biostudies-literature