CaBP1 is a CaCaBP1 is a Ca 2ϩ -binding protein enriched in the brain and retina (2). It has emerged as a prominent regulator of Ca V channel CDI (4). The molecular determinants underlying CaBP1 regulation have been most well characterized for Ca V 1.2 (␣ 1C ) channels, which play crucial roles in Ca 2ϩ signaling and excitability in the nervous and cardiovascular systems (14). In contrast to Ca 2ϩ /CaM, which stabilizes the inactivated state of Ca V 1.2 (24 -26), CaBP1 fully eliminates CDI and supports Ca 2ϩ -dependent facilitation (6, 27). CaBP1 binds to the C-terminal CaM-binding ␣ 1C sites but also interacts with the ␣ 1C N-terminal domain, the deletion of which blunts the effect of CaBP1 on CDI (28). The N terminus of ␣ 1C regulates several aspects of channel gating as well as modulation by protein kinase C (29 -32). Within the N terminus, two modular segments are involved in CaM binding (33, 34) and regulation of P o (35). A "long N-terminal" alternatively spliced ␣ 1C isoform possesses a 20-amino acid (aa) initial segment (N-terminal inhibitory (NTI) module), which controls the channel's maximal P o (30,35). A second module in the central part of the N-terminal domain is a CaM-binding site, the N-terminal spatial Ca 2ϩ -transforming element (NSCaTE), which regulates CDI in Ca V 1.3 (33), but its role in Ca V 1.2 is less clear (34). The exact location of the CaBP1-binding site within the N terminus of ␣ 1C has not been determined, and whether CaBP1 influences parameters of Ca V 1.2 function other than CDI is unknown.Here, we report that CaBP1 expression in Xenopus oocytes regulates activation gating and accelerates VDI of Ca V 1.2. Although CaBP1 binds to a site in the distal N-terminal domain that is distinct from the CaM-binding site, CaBP1 regulation of VDI requires an intact proximal domain in the N terminus of ␣ 1C . Deletion of the entire N-terminal domain inhibits but does not fully abolish effects of CaBP1 on VDI, which indicates the presence of additional relevant molecular determinants. These results suggest a new modulatory role for the ␣ 1C N terminus, in which CaBP1 binding and transduction of the modulation of VDI are encoded by distinct N-terminal domains.