Structural basis for the counter-transport mechanism of a H ⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger

Ca²⁺/cation antiporters catalyze the exchange of Ca²⁺ with various cations across biological membranes to regulate cytosolic calcium levels. The recently reported structure of a prokaryotic Na⁺/Ca ²⁺ exchanger (NCX-Mj) revealed its overall architecture in an outward-facing state. Here, we report the crystal structure of a H ⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger from Archaeoglobus fulgidus (CAX-Af) in the two representatives of the inward-facing conformation at 2.3 Å resolution. The structures suggested Ca²⁺ or H⁺ binds to the cation-binding site mutually exclusively. Structural comparison of CAX-Af with NCX-Mj revealed that the first and sixth transmembrane helices alternately create hydrophilic cavities on the intra- and extracellular sides. The structures and functional analyses provide insight into the mechanism of how the inward- to outward-facing state transition is triggered by the Ca²⁺ and H⁺ binding.