When ER calcium levels drop (right), STIM1 rapidly oligomerizes (yellow) and then translocates slowly to ER–PM junctions.

MEYER/NAS

When ER calcium levels plummet, an ER membrane calcium sensor called STIM1 directly activates plasma membrane (PM) channels to top up the cell's calcium. Jen Liou, Tobias Meyer, and colleagues (Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA) have now uncovered the molecular steps of STIM1's pathway to the PM and show that those steps don't take STIM1 very far.

STIM1 sits in the ER membrane holding a calcium molecule in its luminal domain. When the ER loses calcium, STIM1 translocates along the ER membrane, ultimately aggregating at junctions between the PM and the ER. The details of these steps were unknown.

Using live cell imaging of fluorescent STIM1 fusion proteins, Liou et al. now show that, when ER calcium levels drop, STIM1's first step is to rapidly form...

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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