Calcium and barium permeation through calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels

A Ca2+ current activated by store depletion has been described recently in several cell types and has been termed ICRAC (for Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ current). In this paper, the Ca2+ and Ba2+ permeability of CRAC channels is investigated in mast cells, rat basophilic leukaemia cells (RBL) and human T-lymphocytes (Jurkat). The selectivity of CRAC channels for Ca2+ over monovalent cations is identical in all three cell types and is at least as high as that of voltage-operated Ca2+ (VOC) channels in the various tissues tested. The amplitude of Ba2+ currents relative to Ca2+ currents (IBa/ICa) through CRAC channels was found to be strongly dependent on the membrane potential and was much smaller in Jurkat cells compared to mast and RBL cells. An anomalous mole-fraction behavior was observed at very negative membrane potentials in all three cell types when using different mixtures of external Ca2+ and Ba2+. In contrast to VOC channels, the anomalous mole-fraction effect was not observed at potentials positive to -20 mV.