title: Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Multifunctional roles in neuronal differentiation and synaptic plasticity.
abstract: One of the most important mechanisms for regulating neuronal functions is through second messenger cascades that control protein kinases and the subsequent phosphorylation of substrate proteins. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II) is the most abundant protein kinase in mammalian brain tissues, and the alpha-subunit of this kinase is the major protein and enzymatic molecule of synaptic junctions in many brain regions. CaM-kinase II regulates itself through a complex autophosphorylation mechanism whereby it becomes calcium-independent following its initial activation. This property has implicated CaM-kinase II as a potential molecular switch at central nervous system (CNS) synapses. Recent studies have suggested that CaM-kinase II is involved in many diverse phenomena such as epilepsy, sensory deprivation, ischemia, synapse formation, synaptic transmission, long-term potentiation, learning, and memory. During brain development, the expression of CaM-kinase II at both protein and mRNA levels coincides with the active periods of synapse formation and, therefore, factors regulating the genes encoding kinase subunits may play a role in the cell-to-cell recognition events that underlie neuronal differentiation and the establishment of mature synaptic functions. Recent findings have demonstrated that the mRNA encoding the alpha-subunit of CaM-kinase II is localized in neuronal dendrites. Current speculation suggests that the localized translation of dendritic mRNAs encoding specific synaptic proteins may be responsible for producing synapse-specific changes associated with the processing, storage, and retrieval of information in neural networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School, Houston.
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D015290:Second Messenger Systems; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D002118:Calcium