Abstract
This chapter focuses on the Orai proteins, Orai1-Orai3, with special emphasis on Orai1, in humans and other mammals, and on the definitive evidence that Orai is the pore subunit of the CRAC channel. It begins by reviewing briefly the defining characteristics of the CRAC channel, then discusses the studies that implicated Orai as part of the store-operated Ca(2+) entry pathway and as the CRAC channel pore subunit, and finally examines ongoing work that is providing insights into CRAC channel structure and gating.