Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Slo1

Title: A synthetic photoactivated protein to generate local or global Ca(2+) signals.

Authors: Elizabeth Pham, Evan Mills, Kevin Truong

Journal, date & volume: Chem. Biol., 2011 Jul 29 , 18, 880-90

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21802009

Abstract
Ca(2+) signals regulate diverse physiological processes through tightly regulated fluxes varying in location, time, frequency, and amplitude. Here, we developed LOVS1K, a genetically encoded and photoactivated synthetic protein to generate local or global Ca(2+) signals. With 300 ms blue light exposure, LOVS1K translocated to Orai1, a plasma membrane Ca(2+) channel, within seconds, generating a local Ca(2+) signal on the plasma membrane, and returning to the cytoplasm after tens of seconds. With repeated photoactivation, global Ca(2+) signals in the cytoplasm were generated to modulate engineered Ca(2+)-inducible proteins. Although Orai1 is typically associated with global store-operated Ca(2+) entry, we demonstrate that Orai1 can also generate local Ca(2+) influx on the plasma membrane. Our photoactivation system can be used to generate spatially and temporally precise Ca(2+) signals and to engineer synthetic proteins that respond to specific Ca(2+) signals.