LAUSR

Dysregulation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RYR2) by luminal Ca2+ has been implicated in a life-threatening, stress-induced arrhythmogenic disease. The mechanism of luminal Ca2+-mediated RYR2 regulation is under debate, and it has been attributed to Ca2+ binding on the cytosolic face (the Ca2+ feedthrough mechanism) and/or the luminal face of the RYR2 channel (the true luminal mechanism). The molecular nature and location of the luminal Ca2+ site is unclear. At the single-channel level, we directly probed the RYR2 luminal face by Eu3+, considering the non-permeant nature of trivalent cations and their high binding affinities for Ca2+ sites. Without affecting essential determinants of the Ca2+ feedthrough mechanism, we found that luminal Eu3+ competitively antagonized the activation effect of luminal Ca2+ on RYR2 responsiveness to cytosolic caffeine, and no appreciable effect was observed for luminal Ba2+ (mimicking the absence of luminal Ca2+). Importantly, luminal Eu3+ caused no changes in RYR2 gating. Our results indicate that two distinct Ca2+ sites (available for luminal Ca2+ even when the channel is closed) are likely involved in the true luminal mechanism. One site facing the lumen regulates channel responsiveness to caffeine, while the other site, presumably positioned in the channel pore, governs the gating behavior.