STIM1 and ORAI1 (also termed CRACM1) are essential components of the classical calcium release-activated calcium current; however, the mechanism of the transmission of information of STIM1 to the calcium release-activated calcium/ORAI1 channel is as yet unknown. Here we demonstrate by Förster resonance energy transfer microscopy a dynamic coupling of STIM1 and ORAI1 that culminates in the activation of Ca 2؉ entry. Förster resonance energy transfer imaging of living cells provided insight into the time dependence of crucial events of this signaling pathway comprising Ca 2؉ store depletion, STIM1 multimerization, and STIM1-ORAI1 interaction. Accelerated store depletion allowed resolving a significant time lag between STIM1-STIM1 and STIM1-ORAI1 interactions. Store refilling reversed both STIM1 multimerization and STIM1-ORAI1 interaction. The cytosolic STIM1 C terminus itself was able, in vitro as well as in vivo, to associate with ORAI1 and to stimulate channel function, yet without ORAI1-STIM1 cluster formation. The dynamic interaction occurred via the C terminus of ORAI1 that includes a putative coiled-coil domain structure. An ORAI1 C terminus deletion mutant as well as a mutant (L273S) with impeded coiled-coil domain formation lacked both interaction as well as functional communication with STIM1 and failed to generate Ca 2؉ inward currents. An N-terminal deletion mutant of ORAI1 as well as the ORAI1 R91W mutant linked to severe combined immune deficiency syndrome was similarly impaired in terms of current activation despite being able to interact with STIM1. Hence, the C-terminal coiled-coil motif of ORAI1 represents a key domain for dynamic coupling to STIM1.

L-type Ca(2+) channels are an important means by which a cell regulates the Ca(2+) influx into the cytosol on electrical stimulation. Their structure and dynamics in the plasma membrane, including their molecular mobility and aggregation, is of key interest for the in-depth understanding of their function. Construction of a fluorescent variant by fusion of the yellow-fluorescent protein to the ion channel and expression in a human cell line allowed us to address its dynamic embedding in the membrane at the level of individual channels in vivo. We report on the observation of individual fluorescence-labeled human cardiac L-type Ca(2+) channels using wide-field fluorescence microscopy in living cells. Our fluorescence and electrophysiological data indicate that L-type Ca(2+) channels tend to form larger aggregates which are mobile in the plasma membrane.

No abstract

Ca 2+ -induced inactivation of L-type Ca 2+ is differentially mediated by two C-terminal motifs of the K K 1C subunit, L (1572^1587) and K (1599^1651) implicated for calmodulin binding. We found that motif L is composed of a highly selective Ca 2+ sensor and an adjacent Ca 2+ -independent tethering site for calmodulin. The Ca 2+ sensor contributes to higher Ca 2+ sensitivity of the motif L complex with calmodulin. Since only combined mutation of both sites removes Ca 2+ -dependent current decay, the two-site modulation by Ca 2+ and calmodulin may underlie Ca 2+ -induced inactivation of the channel. ß

During past decades, knowledge of melanoma biology has increased considerably. Numerous therapeutic modalities based on this knowledge are currently under investigation. Advanced melanoma, nevertheless, remains a prime example of poor treatment response that may, in part, be the consequence of activated N-Ras oncoproteins. Besides oncogenic Ras, wild-type Ras gene products also play a key role in receptor tyrosine kinase growth factor signaling, known to be of importance in oncogenesis and tumor progression of a variety of human neoplasms, including malignant melanoma; therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that a pharmacological approach that curtails Ras activity may represent a sensible approach to inhibit melanoma growth. To test this concept, the antitumor activity of S-trans, trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid (FTS), a recently discovered Ras antagonist that dislodges Ras from its membrane-anchoring sites, was evaluated. The antitumor activity of FTS was assessed both in vitro and in vivo in two independent SCID mouse xenotransplantation models of human melanoma expressing either wild-type Ras (cell line 518A2) or activated Ras (cell line 607B). We show that FTS (5-50 M) reduces the amounts of activated N-Ras and wild-type Ras isoforms both in human melanoma cells and Rat-1 fibroblasts, interrupts the Rasdependent extracellular signal-regulated kinase in melanoma cells, inhibits the growth of N-Ras-transformed fibroblasts and human melanoma cells in vitro and reverses their transformed phenotype. FTS also causes a profound and statistically significant inhibition of 518A2 (82%) and 607B (90%) human melanoma growth in SCID mice without evidence of drug-related toxicity. Our findings stress the notion that FTS may qualify as a novel and rational treatment approach for human melanoma and possibly other tumors that either carry activated ras genes or rely on Ras signal transduction more heavily than nonmalignant cells.A dvanced human melanoma is the most malignant type of skin cancer and remains a paradigm of poor treatment response intrinsically linked to poor prognosis (1, 2). Although a multitude of factors have been suspected to play a role in melanoma growth and progression (1-4), the most common specific gene defects identified in this tumor are activating mutations in ras genes. The 15% incidence of ras gene mutations in human melanoma represents predominantly alterations in N-ras at codon 61 (3-6), whereas Ha-ras and K-ras mutations are rare (3-6). The high frequency of this particular mutational hotspot (codon 61) in the N-ras gene basically excludes the possibility of its incidental nature and suggests the involvement of the constitutively active N-Ras protein encoded by the mutated gene in the oncogenesis of human melanoma (6). More recent studies have shown that activated N-Ras confers chemoresistance to human melanoma because expression decreases chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in melanoma xenotransplantation models (7). Because Ras proteins are regulators of multiple signaling pathways that contro...