SEC61A1 and diabetes mellitus: In the case of diabetes, loss of ERj6 function and homozygous SEC61A1 mutation, respectively, were suggested to be caused by inefficient gating of Sec61 channels to the closed state with sustained ER Ca2+ leakage and, eventually, apoptosis of secretory cells, such as pancreatic ß cells (Schäuble et al., 2012; Schorr et al., 2015).