Structural titration reveals Ca2+-dependent conformational landscape of the IP3 receptor

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) are intracellular Ca2+-permeable cation channels whose biphasic dependence on cytoplasmic Ca2+ gives rise to cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations that regulate fertilization, cell division and cell death. Despite the critical roles of IP3R-mediated Ca2+ oscillations, the structural underpinnings of the biphasic Ca2+ dependence that underlies Ca2+ oscillations are incompletely understood. Here, we collected images of an IP3R with Ca2+ at concentrations spanning five orders of magnitude. Unbiased image analysis revealed that Ca2+ binding does not explicitly induce conformational changes but rather biases a complex conformational landscape consisting of resting, preactivated, activated, and inhibited states. Using particle counts as a proxy for free energy, we demonstrate that Ca2+ binding at a high-affinity site allows IP3Rs to activate by escaping a low-energy resting state through an ensemble of preactivated states. At high Ca2+, IP3Rs preferentially enter an inhibited state stabilized by a second, low-affinity Ca2+ binding site. Together, these studies provide a mechanistic basis for the biphasic Ca2+-dependence of IP3R channel activity.