The phospholamban pentamer interacts with the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump SERCA.
The interaction of phospholamban with the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA) is a major regulatory axis in cardiac muscle contractility. The prevailing model involves reversible inhibition of SERCA by monomeric phospholamban and storage of phospholamban as an inactive pentamer. However, this paradigm has been challenged by studies demonstrating that phospholamban remains associated with SERCA and that the phospholamban pentamer is required for cardiac contractility. We have previously used two-dimensional crystallization and electron microscopy to study the interaction between SERCA and phospholamban. To further understand this interaction, we compared small helical crystals and large two-dimensional crystals of SERCA in the absence and presence of phospholamban. In both crystal forms, SERCA molecules are organized into identical anti-parallel dimer ribbons. The dimer ribbons pack together with distinct crystal contacts in the helical versus large two-dimensional crystals, which allow phospholamban differential access to potential sites of interaction with SERCA. Nonetheless, we show that a phospholamban oligomer interacts with SERCA in a similar manner in both crystal forms. In the two-dimensional crystals, a phospholamban pentamer interacts with transmembrane segments M3 of SERCA and participates in a crystal contact that bridges neighboring SERCA dimer ribbons. In the helical crystals, an oligomeric form of phospholamban also interacts with M3 of SERCA, though the phospholamban oligomer straddles a SERCA-SERCA crystal contact. We conclude that the pentameric form of phospholamban interacts with SERCA, and that it plays distinct structural and functional roles in SERCA regulation.