Store-operated Ca 2+ entry (SOCE) is a universal Ca 2+ influx pathway that is important for the function of many cell types. SOCE occurs upon depletion of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca 2+ stores and relies on a complex molecular interplay between the plasma membrane (PM) Ca 2+ channel ORAI1 and the ER Ca 2+ sensor stromal interaction molecule (STIM) 1. Patients with null mutations in ORAI1 or STIM1 genes present with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-like disease. Here, we describe the molecular mechanisms by which a loss-of-function STIM1 mutation (R429C) in human patients abolishes SOCE. R429 is located in the third coiled-coil (CC3) domain of the cytoplasmic C terminus of STIM1. Mutation of R429 destabilizes the CC3 structure and alters the conformation of the STIM1 C terminus, thereby releasing a polybasic domain that promotes STIM1 recruitment to ER-PM junctions. However, the mutation also impairs cytoplasmic STIM1 oligomerization and abolishes STIM1-ORAI1 interactions. Thus, despite its constitutive localization at ER-PM junctions, mutant STIM1 fails to activate SOCE. Our results demonstrate multifunctional roles of the CC3 domain in regulating intra-and intermolecular STIM1 interactions that control (i) transition of STIM1 from a quiescent to an active conformational state, (ii) cytoplasmic STIM1 oligomerization, and (iii) STIM1-ORAI1 binding required for ORAI1 activation.release-activated Ca 2+ (CRAC) channels in the plasma membrane (PM) that are formed by multimers of ORAI proteins, which constitute the permeation pore of the channel (1-4). The opening of ORAI channels is mediated by stromal interaction molecule (STIM) 1 and STIM2, single pass transmembrane proteins whose N and C termini are located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen and cytoplasm, respectively (5, 6). STIM1 and STIM2 are activated after depletion of ER Ca 2+ stores in response to ligation of cell surface receptors that mediate phospholipase C (PLC) activation. The importance of SOCE is emphasized by null and loss-of-function mutations in ORAI1 and STIM1 genes, which cause a disease syndrome called CRAC channelopathy that is characterized by immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, ectodermal dysplasia, and skeletal myopathy (7). SOCE is a highly choreographed process that involves a complex conformational rearrangement of STIM1 proteins, their oligomerization in the ER lumen and in the cytoplasm, and subsequent translocation from the bulk ER to ER-PM junctions (4, 8). There, STIM1 oligomers form puncta and bind ORAI1. SOCE is initiated by dissociation of Ca 2+ from a paired EF-hand (EFh) domain in the ER luminal N terminus of STIM1 after store depletion (Fig. 1A) and association of STIM1 N termini. These events result in a conformational extension of the cytoplasmic