Y3+ block demonstrates an intracellular activation gate for the alpha1G T-type Ca2+ channel

Classical electrophysiology and contemporary crystallography suggest that the activation gate of voltage-dependent channels is on the intracellular side, but a more extracellular "pore gate" has also been proposed. We have used the voltage dependence of block by extracellular Y(3+) as a tool to locate the activation gate of the alpha1G (Ca(V)3.1) T-type calcium channel. Y(3+) block exhibited no clear voltage dependence from -40 to +40 mV (50% block at 25 nM), but block was relieved rapidly by stronger depolarization. Reblock of the open channel, reflected in accelerated tail currents, was fast and concentration dependent. Closed channels were also blocked by Y(3+) at a concentration-dependent rate, only eightfold slower than open-channel block. When extracellular Ca(2+) was replaced with Ba(2+), the rate of open block by Y(3+) was unaffected, but closed block was threefold faster than in Ca(2+), suggesting the slower closed-block rate reflects ion-ion interactions in the pore rather than an extracellularly located gate. Since an extracellular blocker can rapidly enter the closed pore, the primary activation gate must be on the intracellular side of the selectivity filter.