Structural role of countertransport revealed in Ca2+ pump crystal structure in the absence of Ca2+

Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum is an ATR-powered Ca2+ pump but also a H+ pump in the opposite direction with no demonstrated functional role. Here, we report a 2.4-angstrom-resolution crystal structure of the Ca2+ -ATPase in the absence of Ca2+ stabilized by two inhibitors, dibutyidihydroxybenzene, which bridges two transmembrane helices, and thapsigargin, also bound in the membrane region. Now visualized are water and several phospholipid molecules, one of which occupies a cleft between two transmembrane helices. Atomic models of the Ca2+ binding sites with explicit hydrogens derived by continuum electrostatic calculations show how water and protons fill the space and compensate charge imbalance created by Ca2+-release. They suggest that H+ countertransport is a consequence of a requirement for maintaining structural integrity of the empty Ca2+-binding sites. For this reason, cation countertransport is probably mandatory for all P-type ATPases and possibly accompanies transport of water as well.