title: Attenuation of protein kinase C and cAMP-dependent protein kinase signal transduction in the neurogranin knockout mouse.
abstract: Neurogranin (Ng) is a brain-specific, postsynaptically located protein kinase C (PKC) substrate, highly expressed in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and amygdala. This protein is a Ca(2+)-sensitive calmodulin (CaM)-binding protein whose CaM-binding affinity is modulated by phosphorylation and oxidation. To investigate the role of Ng in neural function, a strain of Ng knockout mouse (KO) was generated. Previously we reported (Pak, J. H., Huang, F. L., Li, J., Balschun, D., Reymann, K. G., Chiang, C., Westphal, H., and Huang, K.-P. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 97, 11232-11237) that these KO mice displayed no obvious neuroanatomical abnormality, but exhibited deficits in learning and memory and activation of Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent protein kinase II. In this report, we analyzed several downstream phosphorylation targets in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate- and forskolin-treated hippocampal slices from wild type (WT) and KO mice. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate caused phosphorylation of Ng in WT mice and promoted the translocation of PKC from the cytosolic to the particulate fractions of both the WT and KO mice, albeit to a lesser extent in the latter. Phosphorylation of downstream targets, including mitogen-activated protein kinases, 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase, and the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) was significantly attenuated in KO mice. Stimulation of hippocampal slices with forskolin also caused greater stimulation of protein kinase A (PKA) in the WT as compared with those of the KO mice. Again, phosphorylation of the downstream targets of PKA was attenuated in the KO mice. These results suggest that Ng plays a pivotal role in regulating both PKC- and PKA-mediated signaling pathways, and that the deficits in learning and memory of spatial tasks detected in the KO mice may be the result of defects in the signaling pathways leading to the phosphorylation of CREB.
authors.affiliation: Section on Metabolic Regulation, Endocrinology and Reproduction Research Branch, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4510, USA.
authors.forename: Junfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Junfa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kuo-Ping
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Freesia L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D051579:Neurogranin; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013696:Temperature; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C496650:Nrgn protein, mouse; D051579:Neurogranin; D005576:Colforsin; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate