A sulfur-aromatic gate latch is essential for opening of the Orai1 channel pore

Sulfur-aromatic interactions occur in the majority of protein structures, yet little is known about their functional roles in ion channels. Here, we describe a novel molecular motif, the M101 gate latch, which is essential for gating of human Orai1 channels via its sulfur-aromatic interactions with the F99 hydrophobic gate. Molecular dynamics simulations of different Orai variants reveal that the gate latch is mostly engaged in open but not closed channels. In experimental studies, we use metal-ion bridges to show that promoting an M101-F99 bond directly activates Orai1, whereas disrupting this interaction triggers channel closure. Mutational analysis demonstrates that the methionine residue at this position has a unique combination of length, flexibility, and chemistry to act as an effective latch for the phenylalanine gate. Because sulfur-aromatic interactions provide additional stabilization compared to purely hydrophobic interactions, we infer that the six M101-F99 pairs in the hexameric channel provide a substantial energetic contribution to Orai1 activation.