Summary
Research Advances Our key findings in this fiscal year are as follows: 1.STIM proteins, STIM1 and STIM2, play important roles in the activation of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) through their interaction with the plasma membrane Ca2+ channel, Orai1. Unlike STIM1, STIM2 can sense small decreases in ER-Ca2+ levels, such as those induced at low stimulus intensities, and forms clusters in the ER-PM junctions. Both STIM proteins have a SAM domain as well as canonical and non-canonical EF-hand motifs in the N-terminus. The differences in their Ca2+ sensitivities are suggested to be defined by
