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The endoplasmic reticulum calcium sensors stromal interaction molecules 1 and 2 (STIM1 and STIM2) are key modulators of store-operated calcium entry. Both these sensors play a major role in physiological functions in normal tissue and in pathology, but available data on native STIM2-regulated plasma membrane channels are scarce. Only a few studies have recorded STIM2-induced CRAC (calcium release-activated calcium) currents. On the other hand, many cell types display store-operated currents different from CRAC. The STIM1 protein regulates not only CRAC but also transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels, but it has remained unclear whether STIM2 is capable of regulating store-operated non-CRAC channels. Here we present for the first time experimental evidence for the existence of endogenous non-CRAC STIM2-regulated channels. As shown in single-channel patch clamp experiments on HEK293 cells, selective activation of native STIM2 proteins or STIM2 overexpression results in store-operated activation of Imin channels, whereas STIM1 activation blocks this process. Changes in the ratio between active STIM2 and STIM1 proteins can switch the regulation of Imin channels between store-operated and store-independent modes. We have previously characterized electrophysiological properties of different Ca(2+) influx channels coexisting in HEK293 cells. The results of this study show that STIM1 and STIM2 differ in the ability to activate these store-operated channels; Imin channels are regulated by STIM2, TRPC3-containing INS channels are induced by STIM1, and TRPC1-composed Imax channels are activated by both STIM1 and STIM2. These new data about cross-talk between STIM1 and STIM2 and their different roles in store-operated channel activation are indicative of an additional level in the regulation of store-operated calcium entry pathways., (© 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

We have investigated the molecular basis of intracellular Ca(2+) handling in human colon carcinoma cells (HT29) versus normal human mucosa cells (NCM460) and its contribution to cancer features. We found that Ca(2+) stores in colon carcinoma cells are partially depleted relative to normal cells. However, resting Ca(2+) levels, agonist-induced Ca(2+) increases, store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE), and store-operated currents (ISOC) are largely enhanced in tumor cells. Enhanced SOCE and depleted Ca(2+) stores correlate with increased cell proliferation, invasion, and survival characteristic of tumor cells. Normal mucosa cells displayed small, inward Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) currents (ICRAC) mediated by ORAI1. In contrast, colon carcinoma cells showed mixed currents composed of enhanced ICRAC plus a nonselective ISOC mediated by TRPC1. Tumor cells display increased expression of TRPC1, ORAI1, ORAI2, ORAI3, and STIM1. In contrast, STIM2 protein was nearly depleted in tumor cells. Silencing data suggest that enhanced ORAI1 and TRPC1 contribute to enhanced SOCE and differential store-operated currents in tumor cells, whereas ORAI2 and -3 are seemingly less important. In addition, STIM2 knockdown decreases SOCE and Ca(2+) store content in normal cells while promoting apoptosis resistance. These data suggest that loss of STIM2 may underlie Ca(2+) store depletion and apoptosis resistance in tumor cells. We conclude that a reciprocal shift in TRPC1 and STIM2 contributes to Ca(2+) remodeling and tumor features in colon cancer., (© 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Mammalian non-selective transient receptor potential cation channels (TRPCs) are important in the regulation of cellular calcium homeostasis. In thyroid cells, including rat thyroid FRTL-5 cells, calcium regulates a multitude of processes. RT-PCR screening of FRTL-5 cells revealed the presence of TRPC2 channels only. Knockdown of TRPC2 using shRNA (shTRPC2) resulted in decreased ATP-evoked calcium peak amplitude and inward current. In calcium-free buffer, there was no difference in the ATP-evoked calcium peak amplitude between control cells and shTRPC2 cells. Store-operated calcium entry was indistinguishable between the two cell lines. Basal calcium entry was enhanced in shTRPC2 cells, whereas the level of PKCβ1 and PKCδ, the activity of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase, and the calcium content in the endoplasmic reticulum were decreased. Stromal interaction molecule (STIM) 2, but not STIM1, was arranged in puncta in resting shTRPC2 cells but not in control cells. Phosphorylation site Orai1 S27A/S30A mutant and non-functional Orai1 R91W attenuated basal calcium entry in shTRPC2 cells. Knockdown of PKCδ with siRNA increased STIM2 punctum formation and enhanced basal calcium entry but decreased sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase activity in wild-type cells. Transfection of a truncated, non-conducting mutant of TRPC2 evoked similar results. Thus, TRPC2 functions as a major regulator of calcium homeostasis in rat thyroid cells.

Calcium (Ca(2+)) influx through the plasma membrane store-operated Ca(2+) channel ORAI1 is controlled by Ca(2+) sensors of the stromal interaction molecule (STIM) family. STIM1 responds to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) store depletion by redistributing and activating ORAI1 from regions of the ER juxtaposed to the plasma membrane. Unlike STIM1, STIM2 can regulate ORAI1 in a store-dependent and store-independent manner, but the mechanism by which this is achieved is unknown. Here we find that STIM2 is translated from a highly conserved methionine residue and is directed to the ER by an incredibly long 101-amino acid signal peptide. We find that although the majority of the total STIM2 population resides on the ER membrane, a second population escapes ER targeting to accumulate as a full-length preprotein in the cytosol, signal peptide intact. Unlike STIM2, preSTIM2 localizes to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane where it interacts with ORAI1 to regulate basal Ca(2+) concentration and Ca(2+)-dependent gene transcription in a store-independent manner. Furthermore, a third protein comprising a fragment of the STIM2 signal peptide is released from the ER membrane into the cytosol where it regulates gene transcription in a Ca(2+)-independent manner. This study establishes a new model for STIM2-mediated regulation of ORAI1 in which two distinct proteins, STIM2 and preSTIM2, control store-dependent and store-independent modes of ORAI1 activation.

Mammalian cells accumulate Ca2+ into agonist-sensitive acidic organelles, vesicles that possess a vacuolar proton-ATPase. Acidic Ca2+ stores include secretory granules and lysosome-related organelles. Current evidence clearly indicates that acidic Ca2+ stores participate in cell signaling and function, including the activation of store-operated Ca2+ entry in human platelets upon depletion of the acidic stores, although the mechanism underlying the activation of store-operated Ca2+ entry controlled by the acidic stores remains unclear. STIM1 has been presented as the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor, but its role sensing intraluminal Ca2+ concentration in the acidic stores has not been investigated. Here we report that STIM1 and STIM2 are expressed in the lysosome-related organelles and dense granules in human platelets isolated by immunomagnetic sorting. Depletion of the acidic Ca2+ stores using the specific vacuolar proton-ATPase inhibitor, bafilomycin A1, enhanced the association between STIM1 and STIM2 as well as between these proteins and the plasma membrane channel Orai1. Depletion of the acidic Ca2+ stores also induces time-dependent co-immunoprecipitation of STIM1 with the TRPC proteins hTRPC1 and hTRPC6, as well as between Orai1 and both TRPC proteins. In addition, bafilomycin A1 enhanced the association between STIM2 and SERCA3. These findings demonstrate the location of STIM1 and STIM2 in the acidic Ca2+ stores and their association with Ca2+ channels and ATPases upon acidic stores discharge.

Our recent work identified store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) as the critical Ca(2+) source required for the induction of human myoblast differentiation (Darbellay, B., Arnaudeau, S., König, S., Jousset, H., Bader, C., Demaurex, N., and Bernheim, L. (2009) J. Biol. Chem. 284, 5370-5380). The present work indicates that STIM2 silencing, similar to STIM1 silencing, reduces myoblast SOCE amplitude and differentiation. Because myoblasts in culture can be induced to differentiate into myotubes, which spontaneously contract in culture, we used the same molecular tools to explore whether the Ca(2+) mechanism of excitation-contraction coupling also relies on STIM1 and STIM2. Live cell imaging of early differentiating myoblasts revealed a characteristic clustering of activated STIM1 and STIM2 during the first few hours of differentiation. Thapsigargin-induced depletion of endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) content caused STIM1 and STIM2 redistribution into clusters, and co-localization of both STIM proteins. Interaction of STIM1 and STIM2 was revealed by a rapid increase in fluorescence resonance energy transfer between CFP-STIM1 and YFP-STIM2 after SOCE activation and confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation of endogenous STIM1 and STIM2. Although both STIM proteins clearly contribute to SOCE and are required during the differentiation process, STIM1 and STIM2 are functionally largely redundant as overexpression of either STIM1 or STIM2 corrected most of the impact of STIM2 or STIM1 silencing on SOCE and differentiation. With respect to excitation-contraction, we observed that human myotubes rely also on STIM1 and STIM2 to refill their endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-content during repeated KCl-induced Ca(2+) releases. This indicates that STIM2 is a necessary partner of STIM1 for excitation-contraction coupling. Thus, both STIM proteins are required and interact to control SOCE during human myoblast differentiation and human myotube excitation-contraction coupling.

Store-operated calcium (Ca(2+)) entry (SOCE) mediated by STIM/Orai proteins is a ubiquitous pathway that controls many important cell functions including proliferation and migration. STIM proteins are Ca(2+) sensors in the endoplasmic reticulum and Orai proteins are channels expressed at the plasma membrane. The fall in endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) causes translocation of STIM1 to subplasmalemmal puncta where they activate Orai1 channels that mediate the highly Ca(2+)-selective Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) current (I(CRAC)). Whereas Orai1 has been clearly shown to encode SOCE channels in many cell types, the role of Orai2 and Orai3 in native SOCE pathways remains elusive. Here we analyzed SOCE in ten breast cell lines picked in an unbiased way. We used a combination of Ca(2+) imaging, pharmacology, patch clamp electrophysiology, and molecular knockdown to show that native SOCE and I(CRAC) in estrogen receptor-positive (ER(+)) breast cancer cell lines are mediated by STIM1/2 and Orai3 while estrogen receptor-negative (ER(-)) breast cancer cells use the canonical STIM1/Orai1 pathway. The ER(+) breast cancer cells represent the first example where the native SOCE pathway and I(CRAC) are mediated by Orai3. Future studies implicating Orai3 in ER(+) breast cancer progression might establish Orai3 as a selective target in therapy of ER(+) breast tumors.

STIM1 and STIM2 are dynamic transmembrane endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) sensors, coupling directly to activate plasma membrane Orai Ca(2+) entry channels. Despite extensive sequence homology, the STIM proteins are functionally distinct. We reveal that the short variable N-terminal random coil sequences of STIM1 and STIM2 confer profoundly different activation properties. Using Orai1-expressing HEK293 cells, chimeric replacement of the 43-amino-acid STIM1 N terminus with that of STIM2 attenuates Orai1-mediated Ca(2+) entry and drastically slows store-induced Orai1 channel activation. Conversely, the 55-amino-acid STIM2 terminus substituted within STIM1 strikingly enhances both Orai1-mediated Ca(2+) entry and constitutive coupling to activate Orai1 channels. Hence, STIM N termini are powerful coupling modifiers, functioning in STIM2 to "brake" the otherwise constitutive activation of Orai1 channels afforded by its high sensitivity to luminal Ca(2+).

Stromal interaction molecules (STIM) 1 and STIM2 are regulators of store-operated calcium (Ca(2+)) entry as well as basal cytoplasmic Ca(2+) levels in human cells. Despite a high sequence similarity (>65%) and analogous sequence-based domain architectures, STIM1 and STIM2 differentially influence these phenomena. Among all eukaryotes, the endoplasmic reticulum luminal portion of STIM proteins minimally encode EF-hand and sterile alpha-motif (SAM) domains (EF-SAM), which are responsible for sensing changes in Ca(2+) levels and initiating oligomerization. STIM oligomerization is a key induction step in the activation of Ca(2+)-permeable channels on the plasma membrane. Here, we show that the kinetic half-time of conversion from a monomeric to a steady oligomeric state is >70x shorter for STIM1 EF-SAM than STIM2 under similar conditions. Urea-induced rates of unfolding for STIM1 EF-SAM are >3x quicker when compared with STIM2, coherent with partial unfolding-coupled aggregation. Additionally, we demonstrate that the isoform-specific N-terminal residues beyond EF-SAM can influence the stability of this region. We postulate that distinct oligomerization dynamics of STIM isoforms have evolved to adapt to differential roles in Ca(2+) homeostasis and signaling.

The two membrane proteins, STIM1 and Orai1, have each been shown to be essential for the activation of store-operated channels (SOC). Yet, how these proteins functionally interact is not known. Here, we reveal that STIM1 and Orai1 expressed together reconstitute functional SOCs. Expressed alone, Orai1 strongly reduces store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) current (I(CRAC)) in rat basophilic leukemia cells. However, expressed along with the store-sensing STIM1 protein, Orai1 causes a massive increase in SOCE, enhancing the rate of Ca(2+)entry by up to 103-fold. This entry is entirely store-dependent since the same coexpression causes no measurable store-independent Ca(2+) entry. The entry is completely blocked by the SOC blocker, 2-aminoethoxydiphenylborate. Orai1 and STIM1 coexpression also caused a large gain in CRAC channel function in rat basophilic leukemia cells. The close STIM1 homologue, STIM2, inhibited SOCE when expressed alone but coexpressed with Orai1 caused substantial constitutive (store-independent) Ca(2+) entry. STIM proteins are known to mediate Ca(2+) store-sensing and endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane coupling with no intrinsic channel properties. Our results revealing a powerful gain in SOC function dependent on the presence of both Orai1 and STIM1 strongly suggest that Orai1 contributes the PM channel component responsible for Ca(2+) entry. The suppression of SOC function by Orai1 overexpression likely reflects a required stoichiometry between STIM1 and Orai1.