Divergence of Ca(2+) selectivity and equilibrium Ca(2+) blockade in a Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) channel.

Prevailing models postulate that high Ca(2+) selectivity of Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels arises from tight Ca(2+) binding to a high affinity site within the pore, thereby blocking monovalent ion flux. Here, we examined the contribution of high affinity Ca(2+) binding for Ca(2+) selectivity in recombinant Orai3 channels, which function as highly Ca(2+)-selective channels when gated by the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) sensor STIM1 or as poorly Ca(2+)-selective channels when activated by the small molecule 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB). Extracellular Ca(2+) blocked Na(+) currents in both gating modes with a similar inhibition constant (Ki; ~25 µM). Thus, equilibrium binding as set by the Ki of Ca(2+) blockade cannot explain the differing Ca(2+) selectivity of the two gating modes. Unlike STIM1-gated channels, Ca(2+) blockade in 2-APB-gated channels depended on the extracellular Na(+) concentration and exhibited an anomalously steep voltage dependence, consistent with enhanced Na(+) pore occupancy. Moreover, the second-order rate constants of Ca(2+) blockade were eightfold faster in 2-APB-gated channels than in STIM1-gated channels. A four-barrier, three-binding site Eyring model indicated that lowering the entry and exit energy barriers for Ca(2+) and Na(+) to simulate the faster rate constants of 2-APB-gated channels qualitatively reproduces their low Ca(2+) selectivity, suggesting that ion entry and exit rates strongly affect Ca(2+) selectivity. Noise analysis indicated that the unitary Na(+) conductance of 2-APB-gated channels is fourfold larger than that of STIM1-gated channels, but both modes of gating show a high open probability (Po; ~0.7). The increase in current noise during channel activation was consistent with stepwise recruitment of closed channels to a high Po state in both cases, suggesting that the underlying gating mechanisms are operationally similar in the two gating modes. These results suggest that both high affinity Ca(2+) binding and kinetic factors contribute to high Ca(2+) selectivity in CRAC channels.