A recent study demonstrated that the Ca2+-release activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel, Orai1, which contributes to the store-operated entry of Ca2+ into T cells, was activated by alkaline pH (Beck et al., 2014), suggesting that the function of Orai1 was upregulated in the splenic CD4+ T cells of IBD model mice. The gene discussed is ORAI1; the disease is inflammatory bowel disease.