Is the Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum also a heat pump?

We calculate, using the first law of thermodynamics, the membrane heat fluxes during active transport of Ca2+ in the Ca2+-ATPase in leaky and intact vesicles, during ATP hydrolysis or synthesis conditions. The results show that the vesicle interior may cool down during hydrolysis and Ca2+-uptake, and heat up during ATP synthesis and Ca2+-efflux. The heat flux varies with the SERCA isoform. Electroneutral processes and rapid equilibration of water were assumed. The results are consistent with the second law of thermodynamics for the overall processes. The expression for the heat flux and experimental data, show that important contributions come from the enthalpy of hydrolysis for the medium in question, and from proton transport between the vesicle interior and exterior. The analysis give quantitative support to earlier proposals that certain, but not all, Ca2+-ATPases, not only act as Ca2+-pumps, but also as heat pumps. It can thus help explain why SERCA 1 type enzymes dominate in tissues where thermal regulation is important, while SERCA 2 type enzymes, with their lower activity and better ability to use the energy from the reaction to pump ions, dominate in tissues where this is not an issue.