The molecular choreography of a store-operated calcium channel

Store-operated calcium channels (SOCs) serve essential functions from secretion and motility to gene expression and cell growth. A fundamental mystery is how the depletion of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activates Ca2+ entry through SOCs in the plasma membrane. Recent studies using genetic approaches have identified genes encoding the ER Ca2+ sensor and a prototypic SOC, the Ca2+-release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel. New findings reveal a unique mechanism for channel activation, in which the CRAC channel and its sensor migrate independently to closely apposed sites of interaction in the ER and the plasma membrane.