Serine/threonine kinases in the nervous system

Modulation of Synaptic Plasticity by Exercise Training as a Basis for Ischemic Stroke Rehabilitation

In recent years, rehabilitation of ischemic stroke draws more and more attention in the world, and has been linked to changes of synaptic plasticity. Exercise training improves motor function of ischemia as well as cognition which is associated with formation of learning and memory. The molecular basis of learning and memory might be synaptic plasticity. Research has therefore been conducted in an attempt to relate effects of exercise training to neuroprotection and neurogenesis adjacent to the ischemic injury brain. The present paper reviews the current literature addressing this question and discusses the possible mechanisms involved in modulation of synaptic plasticity by exercise training. This review shows the pathological process of synaptic dysfunction in ischemic roughly and then discusses the effects of exercise training on scaffold proteins and regulatory protein expression. The expression of scaffold proteins generally increased after training, but the effects on regulatory proteins were mixed. Moreover, the compositions of postsynaptic receptors were changed and the strength of synaptic transmission was enhanced after training. Finally, the recovery of cognition is critically associated with synaptic remodeling in an injured brain, and the remodeling occurs through a number of local regulations including mRNA translation, remodeling of cytoskeleton, and receptor trafficking into and out of the synapse. We do provide a comprehensive knowledge of synaptic plasticity enhancement obtained by exercise training in this review.

Deletion of the N-terminus of murine map2 by gene targeting disrupts hippocampal ca1 neuron architecture and alters contextual memory

Microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2) is a brain specific A-kinase anchoring protein that targets the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase holoenzyme (PKA) to microtubules. Phosphorylation of MAP2 by different protein kinases is crucial for neuronal growth. The N-terminus of MAP2 contains the binding site for regulatory subunit II of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA-RIIbeta). Using homologous recombination, we created a mutant line of mice (delta1-158) that express truncated MAP2 lacking the N-terminal peptide and the PKA binding site. Deletion of the PKA binding site from the MAP2 gene resulted in decreased efficiency of MAP2 phosphorylation. Biochemical and immunohistochemical studies demonstrate major changes in the morphology of hippocampal neurons in delta1-158 mice. Behavioral tests indicate that delta1-158 mice were impaired (exhibited less conditioned freezing) relative to Wild-Type (WT) controls during a test of contextual, but not during auditory cue, fear conditioning when tested at 8 weeks or 8 months of age. The delta1-158 mice displayed a heightened sensitivity to shock at 8 weeks, but not at 8 months of age. We conclude that PKA binding to MAP2 and MAP2 phosphorylation is essential for the selective development of contextual memory.

Increased expression of CaM kinase II alpha in the brains of scrapie-infected mice

We investigated the distribution of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) in the brains of mice infected with ME7 scrapie strain. CaM kinase II is an enzyme that plays a major role in the regulation of long-term potentiation, a form of synaptic plasticity associated with learning and memory. Immunoreactivity of CaM kinase II alpha, measured by Western blot, increased markedly in scrapie-infected brains compared with control brains. Immunohistochemically, CaM kinase II alpha immunoreactivity was upregulated in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal CA1 area of scrapie-positive mice infected with ME7 scrapie strain. This result implies that this enzyme is associated with aberrant function of synaptic transmission and LTP of the pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area of mice infected with ME7 scrapie strain.

Measurements of (Na+,K+)ATPase after in vitro hypoxia and reoxygenation are affected by methods of membrane preparation

(Na+,K+ )ATPase activity was evaluated in membranes from rat hippocampal slices after in vitro hypoxia and reoxygenation. Membranes were prepared with two different methods, one using an isotonic medium and another using a hypotonic one. The changes that were found after hypoxia went into opposite directions in the two cases. Membranes prepared in a hypotonic medium are probably more suitable for these measurements. Using these membranes, hypoxia results in a slight decrease of (Na+,K+)ATPase activity and in a further decrease after reoxygenation. We also found that expressing (Na+,K+)ATPase activity as a percent of total ATPase activity is appropriate for membranes prepared under hypotonic conditions and can unveil (by reducing variability between experiments) significant changes that may be masked in small samples like ours.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II immunostaining is preserved in Alzheimer's disease hippocampal neurons

Alterations in protein phosphorylation may be important in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and recent observations suggest that a subset of protein kinase pathways may be selectively altered. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II CaM kinase II) is the most abundant protein kinase in the brain and is believed to play an important role in the regulation of synaptic transmission, long-term potentiation and other forms of neuronal plasticity. We have now evaluated brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease for changes in the distribution and density of immunoreactivity for the alpha subunit of CaM kinase II. CaM kinase II immunoreactivity was found in cytoarchitectural areas and neurons vulnerable to the formation of neurofibrillary angles and senile plaques. Over 80% of neurons bearing neurofibrillary tangles expressed CaM kinase II. Loss of CaM kinase II immunoreactivity was found in CA1, commensurate with neuronal loss in this area. Remaining CA1 neurons, however, had preserved CaM kinase II immunoreactivity. Preservation in the distribution and density of CaM kinase II immunoreactivity was observed in other hippocampal regions and in a multimodal association area, area 20. These results suggest CaM kinase II expression in the Alzheimer's disease brain is unaltered despite marked neuropathological changes.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity in focal ischemia with reperfusion in rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Evidence linking changes in calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity with ischemic cell death has been reported in animal models of global ischemia. The purpose of this study was to delineate the course of these changes after focal ischemia and to clarify the relation of changes in activity of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II to the process of ischemic cell death.

METHODS

Change in calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity was evaluated in a rat model of focal ischemia after 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour of tandem middle cerebral artery and common carotid artery occlusion both with and without reperfusion.

RESULTS

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity was significantly decreased after all three durations of ischemia followed by immediate decapitation compared with sham-operated animals, in both ischemic core and border-zone regions (P < .05 for all groups). Depression of activity occurred in a regionally graded fashion, with the most severe decrease in infarct core and progressively smaller decreases in samples moving out from the center, corresponding to the severity of histological injury later detected in infarct core and border-zone regions. There were only minor differences between the three durations of ischemia in the degree of enzyme depression noted in the more peripheral regions, indicating that the initial decrease in calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity is an early, sensitive marker for an ischemic insult. After reperfusion, the differences between the 5-minute group and longer periods of ischemia widened because of an increase toward baseline in the 5-minute group and a trend toward further decrease in the 30- and 60-minute groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The extreme sensitivity of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II to focal ischemia and the parallel temporal and regional changes in its activity to those of more delayed cell injury point to a potential role for this enzyme in the process of excitotoxic injury.

Abnormal Alzheimer-like phosphorylation of tau-protein by cyclin-dependent kinases cdk2 and cdk5

We have shown earlier that certain proline-directed kinases such as MAP kinase or GSK-3 can phosphorylate tau protein in an abnormal manner reminiscent of tau from Alzheimer paired helical filaments [Drewes et al. (1992); Mandelkow et al. (1992)]. Both kinases are abundant in brain tissue and associate physically with microtubules through several cycles of assembly and disassembly. In this report we show that cdk2/cyclin A incorporates = 5 Pi into recombinant tau, and that it also induces the MR shift and antibody reactivity typical of Alzheimer tau. However, since there is no cdk2 in brain [Meyerson et al. (1992)] we looked for other members of this family of kinases. Using an antibody against the conserved N-terminus we isolated a cdk-like kinase from brain which was capable of inducing the Alzheimer-like characteristics in tau by phosphorylation. Its size (31 kDa), target specificity (proline-directed), chromatographic behavior, and abundance in brain suggest that this kinase is similar or identical to the neuronal cdc2-like kinase nclk alias PSSARLE or cdk5 [Hellmich et al. (1992); Meyerson et al. (1992); Xiong et al. (1992); Tsai et al. (1993)]. This was confirmed by an antibody specific for cdk5. Like MAP kinase and GSK-3, this kinase is physically associated with microtubules and can be enriched by cycles of microtubule assembly and disassembly. Thus, cdk5 should be regarded as another kinase that could be held responsible for the changes in tau protein during Alzheimer disease progression.

Amplification of calcium-induced gene transcription by nitric oxide in neuronal cells

Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived, highly reactive gas, which has been identified as a mediator in vasodilation, an active agent in macrophage cytotoxicity and neurotoxicity, and a neuro-transmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Production of NO by neurons is critical for facilitated synaptic transmission in models of synaptic plasticity such as long-term potentiation and long-term depression, suggesting a role for NO as a retrograde messenger that could complete a hypothetical feedback loop by strengthening the connection between postsynaptic and presynaptic cells. We report here that although alone NO has no evident effect on transcription, it can act as an amplifier of calcium signals in neuronal cells. NO and Ca2+ action have to coincide in time for amplification to occur. Experiments with a series of simplified reporter genes in combination with specific recombinant protein kinase inhibitors suggest that induction of gene activity following NO-amplified calcium action involves protein kinase A-dependent activation of the transcription factor CREB.

Neuronal protection and preservation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and protein kinase C activity by dextrorphan treatment in global ischemia

This study analyzed the ability of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dextrorphan (DX) to prevent neuronal degeneration (analyzed by light microscopy), calmodulin (CaM) redistribution (analyzed by immunocytochemistry) and changes in activity of two major Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases--calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-KII) and protein kinase C (PKC) (analyzed by specific substrate phosphorylation) after 20 min of global ischemia (four-vessel occlusion model) in rats. DX treatment before and after ischemia significantly protected hippocampal and cortical neurons from neurodegeneration whereas DX posttreatment alone did not have any effect on preservation of neuronal morphology as compared with placebo treatment analyzed 72 h after 20 min of ischemia. Similarly to histological changes, DX exhibited protection against redistribution of CaM observed after ischemia. These changes were detected both in hippocampus as well as in cerebral cortex. Finally, DX administered before ligation of the carotid arteries reduced loss in both CaM-KII and PKC activity evoked by ischemia.

Staurosporine differentially inhibits glioma versus non-glioma cell lines

We have previously demonstrated that the protein kinase C (PKC) activity of human glioma cell lines was significantly elevated (by 3 orders of magnitude) when compared to non-malignant adult human glia, and that the proliferation rate of several established human glioma cell lines correlated with the measured protein kinase C activity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 1) elevated PKC activity was also a characteristic of fast growing cell lines of non-glial origin, 2) the proliferation rate of non-glioma cell lines correlated with their PKC activity and 3) the proliferation of non-glioma cell lines could be inhibited by staurosporine, a relatively selective PKC inhibitor, which significantly attenuates the growth of glioma cells. Eight established human non-glioma cell lines (bladder, colorectal, rhabdomyosarcoma-oligodendrocyte hybrid, melanoma, cervix, and fibroblast) were compared to the highly proliferative A172 glioma cell line. PKC activity was significantly higher in the glioma cell lines even though 3 of 8 of the non-glioma lines had higher proliferation rates than A172. In non-glioma cell lines, no correlation was found between the PKC activity and proliferation rates. Staurosporine was more effective in decreasing the proliferation of three glioma cell lines compared to the non-glioma cell lines. We conclude that PKC activity is differentially increased in glioma cell lines and that their proliferation rate is more sensitive to inhibition by staurosporine. Targetting the PKC system may prove to be of therapeutic benefit to patients with malignant gliomas.

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II is phosphorylated by protein kinase C in vitro

Protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylated a synthetic peptide (CBP) that included the Thr-286 phosphorylation sequence and calmodulin binding domain of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II (CaM-kinase). Studies with a variety of truncated peptides suggested that the amino acid phosphorylated by PKC was Thr-286, the same amino acid that when autophosphorylated by Ca2+/calmodulin activation of CaM-kinase results in Ca2+/calmodulin-independent activity. These peptide studies also suggested that the C-terminal region of CBP is required to obtain maximal phosphorylation of Thr-286 by PKC. PKC also phosphorylated purified CaM-kinase from rat forebrain. Phosphopeptide analysis by one- and two-dimensional proteolytic maps of autophosphorylated CaM-kinase and CaM-kinase phosphorylated with PKC identified that there are both similar and unique sites phosphorylated. Phosphoamino acid analysis of CaM-kinase phosphorylated by PKC indicated that both Ser and Thr residues were phosphorylated. Even though Thr-286 of CaM-kinase appeared to be phosphorylated by PKC, no Ca2+/calmodulin-independent activity was detected, and, additionally, no significant change in Ca2+/CaM-dependent activation was detected. These results provide the first indication that these two important protein kinases may communicate directly through interenzyme phosphorylation.

Neurite outgrowth and protein phosphorylation in chick embryonic sensory ganglia induced by a brief exposure to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate

An exposure to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) at 20 nM for as short as 30 min was sufficient to elicit neurite outgrowth from explanted chick embryonic sensory ganglia. Attachment of the ganglia to the collagen-coated substratum during exposure to TPA was essential for subsequent neurite outgrowth. Pulse-labeling with [35S]-methionine indicated no significant difference in protein synthesis between control and TPA-treated ganglia. In vitro phosphorylation assay revealed a prominent protein kinase C substrate with an apparent molecular mass of 66,000 dalton (66 kDa) in chick embryo ganglia extracts. Treatment of intact ganglia with TPA for 30 min also specifically stimulated the phosphorylation of the same protein. When staurosporine, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C, was present during TPA treatment, both neurite outgrowth and the phosphorylation of the 66-kDa protein were blocked. Biochemical analysis of the phosphorylated 66-kDa protein indicated that (1) phosphorylation was only in serine residue, (2) the pI value was 4.5, (3) after V8 protease digestion, two phosphorylated peptide fragments, 6.0 and 7.5 kDa in size, were produced, and (4) it cross-reacted with an antiserum raised against a 66-kDa neurofilament subunit from rat spinal cord. These results suggest that early activation of protein kinase C and the phosphorylation of the 66-kDa protein may be involved in neuritogenesis.

Effect of protein kinase C activators on the uptake of GABA by rat brain synaptosomes

Synaptosomes were prepared from rat brain by a discontinuous Ficoll gradient method and used for studying the uptake of labelled GABA. Two GABA uptake components were evidenced, a high (Km = 3.13 microM) and a low (Km = 92.4 microM) affinity one. Preincubation of synaptosomes with two different activators of protein kinase C, phorbol 12, 13-diacetate (PDAc) and oleyl-acetyl glycerol (OAG), resulted in a change of GABA uptake. In particular, the low affinity component increased its Vmax by 58-74%, with no change in the Km. No statistically significant modification was detected for the high affinity component.

Multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase

Multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) is a prominent mediator of neurotransmitters which elevate Ca2+. It coordinates cellular responses to external stimuli by phosphorylating proteins involved in neurotransmitter synthesis, neurotransmitter release, carbohydrate metabolism, ion flux and neuronal plasticity. Structure/function studies of CaM kinase have provided insights into how it decodes Ca2+ signals. The kinase is kept relatively inactive in its basal state by the presence of an autoinhibitory domain. Binding of Ca2+/calmodulin eliminates this inhibitory constraint and allows the kinase to phosphorylate its substrates, as well as itself. This autophosphorylation significantly slows dissociation of calmodulin, thereby trapping calmodulin even when Ca2+ levels are subthreshold. The kinase may respond particularly well to multiple Ca2+ spikes since trapping may enable a spike frequency-dependent recruitment of calmodulin with each successive Ca2+ spike leading to increased activation of the kinase. Once calmodulin dissociates, CaM kinase remains partially active until it is dephosphorylated, providing for an additional period in which its response to brief Ca2+ transients is potentiated.

The role of protein phosphatases in synaptic transmission, plasticity and neuronal development

In the past year significant advances have been made in our understanding of the role of protein dephosphorylation in the control of neuronal function. Molecular cloning has identified a large number of serine/threonine and tyrosine protein phosphatases in the nervous system. Many of these enzymes are selectively enriched in the nervous system, some are localized to specific neurons, and yet others are expressed only during specific periods of neuronal development. The availability of purified protein phosphatases and selective inhibitors has facilitated the analysis of these enzymes and their role in the regulation of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels.

Calmodulin trapping by calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase

Multifunctional calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) transduces transient elevations in intracellular calcium into changes in the phosphorylation state and activity of target proteins. By fluorescence emission anisotropy, the affinity of CaM kinase for dansylated calmodulin was measured and found to increase 1000 times after autophosphorylation of the threonine at position 286 of the protein. Autophosphorylation markedly slowed the release of bound calcium-calmodulin; the release time increased from less than a second to several hundred seconds. In essence, calmodulin is trapped by autophosphorylation. The shift in affinity does not occur in a site-directed mutant in which threonine at position 286 has been replaced by a non-phosphorylatable amino acid. These experiments demonstrate the existence of a new state in which calmodulin is bound to CaM kinase even though the concentration of calcium is basal. Calmodulin trapping provides for molecular potentiation of calcium transients and may enable detection of their frequency.

Subtypes of protein kinase C in isolated nerve growth cones: only type II is associated with the membrane skeleton from growth cones

The growth cone particle (GCP) fraction was isolated from fetal and neonatal rat brains and the distribution of protein kinase C subtypes in the fraction was examined by using subtype-specific antibodies. The main subtype in the GCP fraction from fetal forebrain was type II, and type III was also present, but not type I. The pattern was not altered from embryonic day 17 to postnatal day 5. The membrane skeleton subfraction from the GCP fraction contained type II, but far less amount of type III. Our results suggest that type II and type III may be closely related to the functions of growth cones but that they appear to be associated with distinct signal transduction processes.