Summary Cognitive function is tightly related to metabolic state but the locus of this control is not well understood. Synapses are thought to present large ATP demands however it is unclear how fuel availability and electrical activity impact synaptic ATP levels, and how ATP availability controls synaptic function. We developed a quantitative genetically-encoded optical reporter of presynaptic ATP, Syn-ATP, and find that electrical activity imposes large metabolic demands that are met via activity-driven control of both glycolysis and mitochondrial function. We discovered that the primary source of activity-driven metabolic demand is the synaptic vesicle cycle. In metabolically intact synapses, activity-driven ATP synthesis is well matched to the energetic needs of synaptic function which at steady state results in ~ 106 free ATPs per nerve terminal. Despite this large reservoir of ATP we find that several key aspects of presynaptic function are severely impaired following even brief interruptions in activity-stimulated ATP synthesis.

Activation of store operated Ca2؉ entry involves stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and calcium channel subunit (Orai1/CRACM1), localized to the plasma membrane. Confocal microscopy shows that thapsigargin-mediated depletion of ER Ca 2؉ stores in RBL mast cells causes a redistribution of STIM1, labeled with monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP), to micrometer-scale ER-plasma membrane junctions that contain Orai1/CRACM1, labeled with monomeric Aequorea coerulescens green fluorescent protein (AcGFP). Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we determine that this visualized coredistribution is accompanied by nanoscale interaction of STIM1-mRFP and AcGFP-Orai1/CRACM1. We find that antigen stimulation of immunoglobulin E receptors causes much less Orai1/CRACM1 and STIM1 association, but strong interaction is observed under conditions that prevent refilling of ER stores. Stimulated association monitored by FRET is inhibited by sphingosine derivatives in parallel with inhibition of Ca 2؉ influx. Similar structural and functional effects are caused by mutation of acidic residues in the cytoplasmic segment of Orai1/CRACM1, suggesting a role for electrostatic interactions via these residues in the coupling of Orai1/CRACM1 to STIM1. Our results reveal dynamic molecular interactions between STIM1 and Orai1/CRACM1 that depend quantitatively on electrostatic interactions and on the extent of store depletion.

We have previously shown that PIP5KIβ and PIP5KIγ generate functionally distinct pools of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] important for antigen-stimulated Ca2+ entry in mast cells. In the present study, we find that association of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ sensor, STIM1, and the store-operated Ca2+ channel, Orai1, stimulated by thapsigargin-mediated ER store depletion, is enhanced by overexpression of PIP5KIβ and inhibited by overexpression of PIP5KIγ. These different PIP5KI isoforms cause differential enhancement of PtdIns(4,5)P2 in detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) fractions, which comprise ordered lipid regions, and detergent-solubilized membrane (DSM) fractions, which comprise disordered lipid regions. Consistent with these results, the inositol 5-phosphatase L10-Inp54p, which is targeted to ordered lipids, decreases PtdIns(4,5)P2 in the DRM fraction and inhibits thapsigargin-stimulated STIM1–Orai1 association and store-operated Ca2+ entry, whereas the inositol 5-phosphatase S15-Inp54p, which is targeted to disordered lipids, decreases PtdIns(4,5)P2 in the DSM fraction and enhances STIM1–Orai1 association. Removal of either the STIM1 C-terminal polylysine sequence (amino acids 677–685) or an N-terminal polyarginine sequence in Orai1 (amino acids 28–33) eliminates this differential sensitivity of STIM1–Orai1 association to PtdIns(4,5)P2 in the distinctive membrane domains. Our results are consistent with a model of PtdIns(4,5)P2 balance, in which store-depletion-stimulated STIM1–Orai1 association is positively regulated by the ordered lipid pool of PtdIns(4,5)P2 and negatively regulated by PtdIns(4,5)P2 in disordered lipid domains.

Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is a ubiquitous signaling process in eukaryotic cells in which the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized Ca2+ sensor, STIM1, activates the plasma membrane-localized Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel, Orai1, in response to emptying of ER Ca2+ stores. In efforts to understand this activation mechanism, we recently identified an acidic coiled-coil region in the C-terminus of Orai1 that contributes to physical association between these two proteins, as measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and is necessary for Ca2+ influx, as measured by an intracellular Ca2+ indicator. Here, we present evidence that a positively charged sequence of STIM1 in its CRAC channel activating domain, human residues 384-386, is necessary for activation of SOCE, most likely because this sequence interacts directly with the acidic coiled-coil of Orai1 to gate Ca2+ influx. We find that mutation to remove positive charges in these residues in STIM1 prevents its stimulated association with wild type Orai1. However, association does occur between this mutant STIM1 and Orai1 that is mutated to remove negative charges in its C-terminal coiled-coil, indicating that other structural features are sufficient for this interaction. Despite this physical association, we find that thapsigargin fails to activate SOCE following co-expression of mutant STIM1 with either wt or the mutant Orai1, implicating STIM1 384-386 in transmission of the Ca2+ gating signal to Orai1 following store depletion.

The combined technologies of optical microscopy and selective probes allow for real-time analysis of protein function in living cells. Synthetic chemistry offers a means to develop specific, protein-targeted probes that exhibit greater optical and chemical functionality than the widely used fluorescent proteins. Here we describe pharmacokinetically optimized, fluorescent trimethoprim (TMP) analogues that can be used to specifically label recombinant proteins fused to E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (eDHFR) in living, wild-type mammalian cells. These improved fluorescent tags exhibited high specificity and fast labeling kinetics, and they could be detected at a high signal-to-noise ratio by using fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We also show that fluorescent TMP-eDHFR complexes are complements to green fluorescent protein (GFP) for two-color protein labeling experiments in cells.