Structures reveal opening of the store-operated calcium channel Orai

The store-operated calcium (Ca2+) channel Orai governs Ca2+ influx through the plasma membrane of many non-excitable cells in metazoans. The channel opens in response to depletion of Ca2+ within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Loss- and gain-of-function mutants of Orai cause disease. Our previous work revealed the structure of Orai with a closed pore. Here, using a gain-of-function mutation that constitutively activates the channel, we present an X-ray structure of Drosophila melanogaster Orai in an open conformation. Well-defined electron density maps reveal that the open pore is dramatically dilated on its cytosolic side in comparison to the slender closed pore. Cations and anions bind in different regions of the open pore, informing mechanisms for ion permeation and the exquisite selectivity of the channel for Ca2+. Opening of the pore requires the release of cytosolic latches. Together with additional X-ray structures of an unlatched-but-closed intermediate, we propose a sequence for store-operated activation.