Calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) promotes the maturation of retinotectal glutamatergic synapses in Xenopus. Whether CaMKII activity also controls morphological maturation of optic tectal neurons was tested using in vivo time-lapse imaging of single neurons over periods of up to 5 days. Dendritic arbor elaboration slows with maturation, in correlation with the onset of CaM...

This study evaluated the alteration of CaMKII autophosphorylation and distribution in rat brain following a single, brief pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) seizure and during PTZ kindling. Total CaMKII alpha subunit (alpha-CaMKII) and alpha-CaMKII phosphorylated at Thr(286) were detected by immunoblot. A large decrease in CaMKII Thr(286) phosphorylation, as well as CaMKII translocation from particulate t...

AII amacrine cells are essential interneurons of the primary rod pathway and transmit rod-driven signals to ON cone bipolar cells to enable scotopic vision. Gap junctions made of connexin36 (Cx36) mediate electrical coupling among AII cells and between AII cells and ON cone bipolar cells. These gap junctions underlie a remarkable degree of plasticity and are modulated by different signaling cas...

BACKGROUND Postoperative remifentanil-induced pain sensitization is common, but its molecular mechanism remains unclear. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has been shown to have a critical role in morphine-induced hyperalgesia. This study was designed to determine how CaMKII phosphorylation and protein expression levels change in the central nervous system of rats with rem...

The Ca2 /calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has morphogenic functions in neurons not shared by the isoform. CaMKII contains three exons (v1, v3, and v4) not present in the CaMKII gene, and two of these exons (v1 and v4) are subject to differential alternative splicing. We show here that CaMKII , but not , mediated bundling of F-actin filaments in vitro. Most importantly, incl...

BACKGROUND Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs) are major downstream mediators of neuronal calcium signaling that regulate multiple neuronal functions. CaMKII, one of the key CaMKs, plays a significant role in mediating cellular responses to external signaling molecules. Although calcium signaling plays an essential role in the enteric nervous system (ENS), the role of CaMKII in ...

Previous studies demonstrated a requirement for multifunctional Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in PDGF-stimulated vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell migration. In the present study, molecular approaches were used specifically to assess the role of the predominant CaMKII isoform (delta(2) or delta(C)) on VSM cell migration. Kinase-negative (K43A) and constitutively active ...

CaMKII is critical for structural and functional plasticity. Here we show that Camguk (Cmg), the Drosophila homolog of CASK/Lin-2, associates in an ATP-regulated manner with CaMKII to catalyze formation of a pool of calcium-insensitive CaMKII. In the presence of Ca(2+)/CaM, CaMKII complexed to Cmg can autophosphorylate at T287 and become constitutively active. In the absence of Ca(2+)/CaM, ATP ...

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the effects of resveratrol, a natural polyphenol with neuroprotective properties, on retinal neuronal cell death mediated by diabetes-induced activation of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). Con...

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has been demonstrated to modulate calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and phosphorylate the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+-ATPase in vitro. CaMKII overexpression in skeletal muscle in vivo increased twitch contraction and relaxation speed (chapter 3). However, it is unclear if CaMKII-dependent modification of RyR and SERCA a...