ABTS, 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid BiP, immunoglobulin heavy-chain-binding protein calcium store chaperone endoplasmic reticulum (ER) ER, endoplasmic reticulum ES, embryonic stem glucose-regulated protein of 94 kDa (GRP94) GRP94, glucose-regulated protein of 94 kDa heat-shock protein (HSP) HRP, horseradish peroxidase HSP90, heat-shock protein 90 N34–355, N-terminal 34–355 amino acids Ni-NTA, Ni2+-nitrilotriacetate Tg, thapsigargin VSV, vesicular stomatitis virus
GRP94 (glucose-regulated protein of 94 kDa) is a major luminal constituent of the endoplasmic reticulum with known high capacity for calcium
in vivo
and a peptide-binding activity
in vitro
. In the present study, we show that Ca
2+
regulates the ability of GRP94 to bind peptides. This effect is due to a Ca
2+
-binding site located in the charged linker domain of GRP94, which, when occupied, enhances the association of peptides with the peptide-binding site in the N-terminal domain of the protein. We further show that
grp94
−/−
cells are hypersensitive to perturbation of intracellular calcium and thus GRP94 is important for cellular Ca
2+
storage.