Isoform-Specific Properties of Orai Homologues in Activation, Downstream Signaling, Physiology and Pathophysiology

Ca(2+) ion channels are critical in a variety of physiological events, including cell growth, differentiation, gene transcription and apoptosis. One such essential entry pathway for calcium into the cell is the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel. It consists of the Ca(2+) sensing protein, stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and a Ca(2+) ion channel Orai in the plasma membrane. The Orai channel family includes three homologues Orai1, Orai2 and Orai3. While Orai1 is the “classical” Ca(2+) ion channel within the CRAC channel complex and plays a universal role in the human body, there is increasing evidence that Orai2 and Orai3 are important in specific physiological and pathophysiological processes. This makes them an attractive target in drug discovery, but requires a detailed understanding of the three Orai channels and, in particular, their differences. Orai channel activation is initiated via Ca(2+) store depletion, which is sensed by STIM1 proteins, and induces their conformational change and oligomerization. Upon STIM1 coupling, Orai channels activate to allow Ca(2+) permeation into the cell. While this activation mechanism is comparable among the isoforms, they differ by a number of functional and structural properties due to non-conserved regions in their sequences. In this review, we summarize the knowledge as well as open questions in our current understanding of the three isoforms in terms of their structure/function relationship, downstream signaling and physiology as well as pathophysiology.