“…The loop L6-7 has moreover been suggested to be part of an ion access pathway in both SERCA and the Na + /K + -ATPase (12,13,15,16,28), and/or to contribute to the coordination of events between the cytosolic and transmembrane domains (14,16,17). A very recent study on SER-CA2b has found that small, local conformational changes in the area around the L6-7-P1 interaction-in this case induced by long-range effects from changes to the luminal region of the M domain-are accompanied by changes to the entire headpiece arrangement (29). In light of our finding that the E340A mutation allows for an irreversible swinging out of Arg822, which is correlated to a concomitant inward movement of M3, the reverse conclusion must be that the interaction network between Arg822, Glu340, and Leu249 is critical for maintaining a proper architecture of the Ca 2+ entry and exit pathways.…”