An understanding of the role of CaM kinase II in the pancreatic beta-cell is dependent on the identification of its cellular targets. One of the best substrates of CaM kinase II in vitro that could function in secretory events is the microtubule-associated protein, MAP-2. By immunoblot analysis, a high molecular weight protein with electrophoretic properties characteristic of MAP-2, was identif...

We analyzed whether synaptic membrane trafficking proteins are substrates for casein kinase II, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), three kinases implicated in the modulation of synaptic transmission. Each kinase phosphorylates a specific set of the vesicle proteins syntaxin 1A, N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF), vesicle-associated memb...

We used brief bilateral carotid artery occlusion in gerbils to examine the effects of temperature on ischemia-induced inhibition of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity and neuronal death. In normothermic (36 degrees C) gerbils, ischemia induced a severe loss of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons measured 7 days after ischemia (28.4 neurons/mm, n = 10; control density in 10 na...

OBJECTIVES The rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) is responsible for the increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration through a phospholipase C-dependent and phospholipase C-independent pathways in infected cells. It is shown that increasing of intracellular calcium concentration in rotavirus infected cells is associated with the activation of some members of protein kinases family such ...

a series of 42 pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazoline-3-carboxamides as multi-cyclin-dependent kinaseinhibitors regarded as promising antitumor agents to complement the existing therapies, wassubjected to a three-dimensional quantitative activity relationship (3d qsar). different qsarmethods, comparative molecular field analysis (comfa), comfa region focusing, andcomparative molecular similarity indices an...

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a pivotal signaling molecule in both the brain and the heart. In this issue of Cell, Erickson et al. (2008) demonstrate a mechanism for CaMKII activation by reactive oxygen species that provides a direct link between kinase activation and cardiac dysfunction.

Myosin light-chain kinase was purifed from bovine carotid artery. Approx. 90% of myosin kinase was extracted in the supernatant fraction with buffer containing EDTA during myofibril preparation. The soluble fraction yielded two distinct peaks on DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. Peak I was eluted at a conductance of 11-12mmho and was completely dependent on Ca2+-calmodulin for its activity. Peak II...

antiproliferative protein (app) isolated from conditioned media of two androgen-independent prostatic carcinoma cell lines, pc3 and du-145 was shown to inhibit selectively cell proliferation of androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line lncap in a dose dependent manner. this protein was further purified with hplc using hydrophobic interaction column (phenyl 5pw) and was used to study the modu...

The ability of CaMKII to act as a molecular switch, becoming Ca(2+) independent after activation and autophosphorylation at T287, is critical for experience-dependent plasticity. Here, we show that the Drosophila homolog of CASK, also known as Camguk, can act as a gain controller on the transition to calcium-independence in vivo. Genetic loss of dCASK significantly increases synapse-specific, a...

Molecular switches have been implicated in the storage of information in biological systems. For small structures such as synapses, these switches are composed of only a few molecules and stochastic fluctuations are therefore of importance. Such fluctuations could potentially lead to spontaneous switch reset that would limit the lifetime of information storage. We have analyzed a model of the c...