Ca2Ï© influx is a critical component of the receptor-evoked Ca 2Ï© signal and plays a role in many physiological functions (1). The best described form of Ca 2Ï© influx is mediated by the store-operated Ca 2Ï© channels (SOCs), 3 which are activated by agonist-dependent or agonist-independent depletion of Ca 2Ï© stored in the ER (1). The molecular identity of the SOCs and I crac is still not known with certainty, although recent work points to ORAI1/CRACM1/olf186-F as a potential I crac (2-5). However, accumulating evidence indicates that members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of ion channels are associated with SOCs in mammalian cells. Thus, deletion of TRPC4 in mice (6, 7) or of TRPC1, TRPC3, TRPC6, and TRPC7 by antisense or siRNA (8 -10) and dominant negative TRPC1, TRPC3, partially inhibit SOCs and/or receptor-stimulated Ca 2Ï© influx. The mechanism by which agonist stimulation activates Ca 2Ï© influx by TRPC channels is not well understood. TRPC1, -4, and -5 can be activated by store depletion, whereas TRPC3, -6, and -7 can be activated by the lipid diacylglycerol (11,15,16). However, depending on cell type and expression levels, TRPC3 can also be activated by store depletion (17)(18)(19). Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how store depletion leads to activation of SOCs and TRPC channels; conformational coupling between TRPC channels and IP 3 receptors (IP 3 Rs) (18, 20 -22), exocytotic insertion of the channels in the plasma membrane (PM) (23)(24)(25), and activation by a diffusible messenger (26,27). Biochemical and functional evidence showed regulatory interaction between IP 3 Rs and several TRPC channels, including TRPC1 and TRPC3 (18,[28][29][30][31][32] Rs (30,32).A newly discovered and apparently a general regulatory mechanism of TRPC channel activity is agonist-stimulated translocation of the channels to the PM. In HEK293 cells, receptor stimulation but not passive store depletion was reported to stimulate the translocation of TRPC3 to the PM in a mechanism that was inhibited by cleavage of VAMP2 (vesicleassociated membrane protein 2) with tetanus toxin (38). Another form of regulation of TRPC3 is by interaction with phospholipase Câ„ (22, 39). However, unlike the role of VAMP2, phospholipase Câ„ does not affect the acute expression or translocation of TRPC3 but rather the steady-state level of TRPC3 in the PM (22). Stimulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor resulted in translocation of TRPC5 to the PM in a mechanism that was dependent on phosphoinositide 3-kinase, the Rho GTPase Rac1, and phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP(5)KâŁ) (24). Finally, stimulation of the muscarinic M3 receptor resulted in translocation of TRPC6 to the PM in a time course that coincides with activation of Ca 2Ï© influx (25). For the most part, TRPC channel translocation has been studied in cell lines. Whether such a mechanism also operates in native cells is not known. Furthermore, TRPC3, -5, and -6 bind Homers and IP 3 Rs (33) (present work). The potential role of Homer and IP 3 R...