Impact of SOCE Abolition by ORAI1 Knockout on the Proliferation, Adhesion, and Migration of HEK-293 Cells

Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) provided through channels formed by ORAI proteins is a major regulator of several cellular processes. In immune cells, it controls fundamental processes such as proliferation, cell adhesion, and migration, while in cancer, SOCE and ORAI1 gene expression are dysregulated and lead to abnormal migration and/or cell proliferation. In the present study, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to delete the ORAI1 gene and to identify its role in proliferative and migrative properties of the model cell line HEK-293. We showed that ORAI1 deletion greatly reduced SOCE. Thereby, we found that this decrease and the absence of ORAI1 protein did not affect HEK-293 proliferation. In addition, we determined that ORAI1 suppression did not affect adhesive properties but had a limited impact on HEK-293 migration. Overall, we showed that ORAI1 and SOCE are largely dispensable for cellular proliferation, migration, and cellular adhesion of HEK-293 cells. Thus, despite its importance in providing Ca2+ entry in non-excitable cells, our results indicate that the lack of SOCE does not deeply impact HEK-293 cells. This finding suggests the existence of compensatory mechanism enabling the maintenance of their physiological function.