RESUMO
The single-pass transmembrane protein Stromal Interaction Molecule 1 (STIM1), located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, possesses two main functions: It senses the ER-Ca2+ concentration and directly binds to the store-operated Ca2+ channel Orai1 for its activation when Ca2+ recedes. At high resting ER-Ca2+ concentration, the ER-luminal STIM1 domain is kept monomeric but undergoes di/multimerization once stores are depleted. Luminal STIM1 multimerization is essential to unleash the STIM C-terminal binding site for Orai1 channels. However, structural basis of the luminal association sites has so far been elusive. Here, we employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and identified two essential di/multimerization segments, the α7 and the adjacent region near the α9-helix in the sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain. Based on MD results, we targeted the two STIM1 SAM domains by engineering point mutations. These mutations interfered with higher-order multimerization of ER-luminal fragments in biochemical assays and puncta formation in live-cell experiments upon Ca2+ store depletion. The STIM1 multimerization impeded mutants significantly reduced Ca2+ entry via Orai1, decreasing the Ca2+ oscillation frequency as well as store-operated Ca2+ entry. Combination of the ER-luminal STIM1 multimerization mutations with gain of function mutations and coexpression of Orai1 partially ameliorated functional defects. Our data point to a hydrophobicity-driven binding within the ER-luminal STIM1 multimer that needs to switch between resting monomeric and activated multimeric state. Altogether, these data reveal that interactions between SAM domains of STIM1 monomers are critical for multimerization and activation of the protein.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Neoplasias , Multimerização Proteica , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal , Humanos , Sítios de Ligação , Cálcio/metabolismo , Retículo Endoplasmático/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Proteínas de Neoplasias/metabolismo , Proteínas de Neoplasias/genética , Proteínas de Neoplasias/química , Proteína ORAI1/metabolismo , Proteína ORAI1/genética , Proteína ORAI1/química , Ligação Proteica , Domínios Proteicos , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal/metabolismo , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal/genética , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal/químicaRESUMO
Store operated calcium (Ca2+) entry (SOCE) is the process whereby endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ store depletion causes Orai1-composed Ca2+ channels on the plasma membrane (PM) to open, mediating a rise in cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Stromal interaction molecules (STIMs) are the proteins that directly sense ER Ca2+ content and gate Orai1 channels due to store depletion. The trigger for STIM activation is Ca2+ unbinding from the ER lumen-oriented domains, which consist of a nonconserved amino (N) terminal region and EF-hand and sterile α motif (SAM) domains (EF-SAM), highly conserved from humans to Caenorhabditis elegans. Solution NMR structures of the human EF-SAM domains have been determined at high Ca2+ concentrations; however, no direct structural view of the Ca2+ binding mode has been elucidated. Further, no atomic resolution data currently exists on EF-SAM at low Ca2+ levels. Here, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of the C. elegans STIM luminal domain, revealing that EF-SAM binds a single Ca2+ ion with pentagonal bipyramidal geometry and an ancillary α-helix formed by the N-terminal region acts as a brace to stabilize EF-SAM. Using solution NMR, we observed EF-hand domain unfolding and a conformational exchange between folded and unfolded states involving the ancillary α-helix and the canonical EF-hand in low Ca2+. Remarkably, we also detected an α-helix (+Ca2+) to ß-strand (-Ca2+) transition at the terminal SAM domain α-helix. Collectively, our analyses indicate that one canonically bound Ca2+ ion is sufficient to stabilize the quiescent luminal domain structure, precluding unfolding, conformational exchange, and secondary structure transformation.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Membrana Celular/ultraestrutura , Proteínas de Membrana/ultraestrutura , Proteína ORAI1/genética , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal/ultraestrutura , Sequência de Aminoácidos/genética , Animais , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Caenorhabditis elegans/ultraestrutura , Cálcio/química , Cálcio/metabolismo , Sinalização do Cálcio/genética , Membrana Celular/genética , Cristalografia por Raios X , Motivos EF Hand/genética , Retículo Endoplasmático/genética , Retículo Endoplasmático/ultraestrutura , Humanos , Espectroscopia de Ressonância Magnética , Proteínas de Membrana/química , Proteínas de Membrana/genética , Ressonância Magnética Nuclear Biomolecular , Ligação Proteica/genética , Domínios Proteicos/genética , Estrutura Secundária de Proteína/genética , Molécula 1 de Interação Estromal/genéticaRESUMO
Stromal interaction molecule (STIM)-1 and -2 are multi-domain, single-pass transmembrane proteins involved in sensing changes in compartmentalized calcium (Ca2+) levels and transducing this cellular signal to Orai1 channel proteins. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying STIM signaling has been dramatically improved through available X-ray crystal and solution NMR structures. This high-resolution structural data has revealed that intricate intramolecular and intermolecular protein-protein interactions are involved in converting STIMs from the quiescent to activation-competent states. This review article summarizes the current high resolution structural data on specific EF-hand, sterile α motif and coiled-coil interactions which drive STIM function in the activation of Orai1 channels. Further, the work discusses the effects of post-translational modifications on the structure and function of STIMs. Future structural studies on larger STIM:Orai complexes will be critical to fully defining the molecular bases for STIM function and how post-translational modifications influence these mechanisms.