Chemical shift assignments of calmodulin bound to the GluN1 C0 domain (residues 841-865) of the NMDA receptor

Chemical shift assignments of the α-actinin C-terminal EF-hand domain bound to a cytosolic C0 domain of GluN1 (residues 841-865) from the NMDA receptor

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) consist of glycine-binding GluN1 and glutamate-binding GluN2 subunits that form tetrameric ion channels. NMDARs in the brain are important for controlling neuronal excitability to promote synaptic plasticity. The cytoskeletal protein, α-actinin-1 (100 kDa, called ACTN1) binds to the cytosolic C0 domain of GluN1 (residues 841-865) that may play a role in the Ca2+-dependent desensitization of NMDAR channels. Mutations that disrupt NMDAR channel function are linked to Alzheimer's disease, depression, stroke, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. NMR chemical shift assignments are reported here for the C-terminal EF-hand domain of ACTN1 (residues 824-892, called ACTN_EF34) and ACTN_EF34 bound to the GluN1 C0 domain (BMRB numbers 52385 and 52386, respectively).

Alzheimer's Disease beyond Calcium Dysregulation: The Complex Interplay between Calmodulin, Calmodulin-Binding Proteins and Amyloid Beta from Disease Onset through Progression

A multifactorial syndrome, Alzheimer's disease is the main cause of dementia, but there is no existing therapy to prevent it or stop its progression. One of the earliest events of Alzheimer's disease is the disruption of calcium homeostasis but that is just a prelude to the disease's devastating impact. Calcium does not work alone but must interact with downstream cellular components of which the small regulatory protein calmodulin is central, if not primary. This review supports the idea that, due to calcium dyshomeostasis, calmodulin is a dominant regulatory protein that functions in all stages of Alzheimer's disease, and these regulatory events are impacted by amyloid beta. Amyloid beta not only binds to and regulates calmodulin but also multiple calmodulin-binding proteins involved in Alzheimer's. Together, they act on the regulation of calcium dyshomeostasis, neuroinflammation, amyloidogenesis, memory formation, neuronal plasticity and more. The complex interactions between calmodulin, its binding proteins and amyloid beta may explain why many therapies have failed or are doomed to failure unless they are considered.

Chemical shift assignments of calmodulin bound to a cytosolic domain of GluN2A (residues 1004-1024) from the NMDA receptor

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) consist of glycine-binding GluN1 and glutamate-binding GluN2 subunits that form tetrameric ion channels. NMDARs in the neuronal post-synaptic membrane are important for controlling neuroplasticity and synaptic transmission in the brain. Calmodulin (CaM) binds to the cytosolic C0 domains of both GluN1 (residues 841-865) and GluN2 (residues 1004-1024) that may play a role in the Ca2+-dependent desensitization of NMDAR channels. Mutations that disrupt Ca2+-dependent desensitization of NMDARs are linked to Alzheimer's disease, depression, stroke, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. NMR chemical shift assignments are reported here for Ca2+-saturated CaM bound to the GluN2A C0 domain of NMDAR (BMRB no. 51821).