Howard Schulman

The molecular basis of CaMKII function in synaptic and behavioural memory

Long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of the hippocampus has been the primary model by which to study the cellular and molecular basis of memory. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is necessary for LTP induction, is persistently activated by stimuli that elicit LTP, and can, by itself, enhance the efficacy of synaptic transmission. The analysis of CaMKII autophosphorylation and dephosphorylation indicates that this kinase could serve as a molecular switch that is capable of long-term memory storage. Consistent with such a role, mutations that prevent persistent activation of CaMKII block LTP, experience-dependent plasticity and behavioural memory. These results make CaMKII a leading candidate in the search for the molecular basis of memory.

Interaction with the NMDA receptor locks CaMKII in an active conformation

Calcium- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and glutamate receptors are integrally involved in forms of synaptic plasticity that may underlie learning and memory. In the simplest model for long-term potentiation, CaMKII is activated by Ca2+ influx through NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate) receptors and then potentiates synaptic efficacy by inducing synaptic insertion and increased single-channel conductance of AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors. Here we show that regulated CaMKII interaction with two sites on the NMDA receptor subunit NR2B provides a mechanism for the glutamate-induced translocation of the kinase to the synapse in hippocampal neurons. This interaction can lead to additional forms of potentiation by: facilitated CaMKII response to synaptic Ca2+; suppression of inhibitory autophosphorylation of CaMKII; and, most notably, direct generation of sustained Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-independent (autonomous) kinase activity by a mechanism that is independent of the phosphorylation state. Furthermore, the interaction leads to trapping of CaM that may reduce down-regulation of NMDA receptor activity. CaMKII–NR2B interaction may be prototypical for direct activation of a kinase by its targeting protein.

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.

Global changes to the ubiquitin system in Huntington's disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of CAG triplet repeats in the huntingtin (HTT) gene (also called HD) and characterized by accumulation of aggregated fragments of polyglutamine-expanded HTT protein in affected neurons. Abnormal enrichment of HD inclusion bodies with ubiquitin, a diagnostic characteristic of HD and many other neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, has suggested that dysfunction in ubiquitin metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of these diseases. Because modification of proteins with polyubiquitin chains regulates many essential cellular processes including protein degradation, cell cycle, transcription, DNA repair and membrane trafficking, disrupted ubiquitin signalling is likely to have broad consequences for neuronal function and survival. Although ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation is impaired in cell-culture models of HD and of other neurodegenerative diseases, it has not been possible to evaluate the function of the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) in HD patients or in animal models of the disease, and a functional role for UPS impairment in neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis remains controversial. Here we exploit a mass-spectrometry-based method to quantify polyubiquitin chains and demonstrate that the abundance of these chains is a faithful endogenous biomarker of UPS function. Lys 48-linked polyubiquitin chains accumulate early in pathogenesis in brains from the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of HD, from a knock-in model of HD and from human HD patients, establishing that UPS dysfunction is a consistent feature of HD pathology. Lys 63- and Lys 11-linked polyubiquitin chains, which are not typically associated with proteasomal targeting, also accumulate in the R6/2 mouse brain. Thus, HD is linked to global changes in the ubiquitin system to a much greater extent than previously recognized.

Selective Regulation of Neurite Extension and Synapse Formation by the β but not the α Isoform of CaMKII

Abstract Neurite extension and branching are important neuronal plasticity mechanisms that can lead to the addition of synaptic contacts in developing neurons and changes in the number of synapses in mature neurons. Here we show that Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) regulates movement, extension, and branching of filopodia and fine dendrites as well as the number of synapses in hippocampal neurons. Only CaMKIIβ, which peaks in expression early in development, but not CaMKIIα, has this morphogenic activity. A small insert in CaMKIIβ, which is absent in CaMKIIα, confers regulated F-actin localization to the enzyme and enables selective upregulation of dendritic motility. These results show that the two main neuronal CaMKII isoforms have markedly different roles in neuronal plasticity, with CaMKIIα regulating synaptic strength and CaMKIIβ controlling the dendritic morphology and number of synapses .

Nitric oxide stimulates Ca2+-independent synaptic vesicle release

A new fluorescence method using the dye FM1-43 was used to examine exocytotic release from hippocampal synaptosomes. Nitric oxide caused a marked transient stimulation of vesicle release. Several structurally unrelated nitric oxide donors, sodium nitroprusside, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, 3-morpholino-sydnonimine, and acidified sodium nitrite, were effective. Release stimulated by nitric oxide and KCl were comparable in time course, using both the fluorescence assay and [3H]L-glutamate to monitor neurotransmitter release. Activation of guanylyl cyclase was not responsible for nitric oxide-stimulated release. Unlike release stimulated by KCl or A23187, nitric oxide-stimulated release was found to be independent of a rise in intrasynaptosomal Ca2+. Indo-1/AM measurements indicated that nitric oxide actually decreased intracellular Ca2+, and the Ca2+ channel blocker Cd2+ did not affect nitric oxide-stimulated vesicle release. Nitric oxide does, however, appear to act on the Ca(2+)-sensitive pool of vesicles. Nitric oxide may be the first physiological mediator that induces vesicle exocytosis without raising Ca2+ and may provide an interesting new tool for the study of molecules involved in vesicle exocytosis.

CaMKII tethers to L-type Ca2+ channels, establishing a local and dedicated integrator of Ca2+ signals for facilitation

Ca2+-dependent facilitation (CDF) of voltage-gated calcium current is a powerful mechanism for up-regulation of Ca2+ influx during repeated membrane depolarization. CDF of L-type Ca2+ channels (Cav1.2) contributes to the positive force–frequency effect in the heart and is believed to involve the activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII). How CaMKII is activated and what its substrates are have not yet been determined. We show that the pore-forming subunit α1C (Cavα1.2) is a CaMKII substrate and that CaMKII interaction with the COOH terminus of α1C is essential for CDF of L-type channels. Ca2+ influx triggers distinct features of CaMKII targeting and activity. After Ca2+-induced targeting to α1C, CaMKII becomes tightly tethered to the channel, even after calcium returns to normal levels. In contrast, activity of the tethered CaMKII remains fully Ca2+/CaM dependent, explaining its ability to operate as a calcium spike frequency detector. These findings clarify the molecular basis of CDF and demonstrate a novel enzymatic mechanism by which ion channel gating can be modulated by activity.

Nitric Oxide Modulates Synaptic Vesicle Docking/Fusion Reactions

Nitric oxide (NO) stimulates calcium-independent neurotransmitter release from synaptosomes. NO-stimulated release was found to be inhibited by Botulinum neurotoxins that inactivate the core complex of synaptic proteins involved in the docking and fusion of synaptic vesicles. In experiments using recombinant proteins, NO donors increased formation of the VAMP/SNAP-25/syntaxin 1a core complex and inhibited the binding of n-sec1 to syntaxin 1a. The combined effects of these activities is predicted to promote vesicle docking/fusion. The sulfhydryl reagent NEM inhibited the binding of n-sec1 to syntaxin 1a, while beta-ME could reverse the NO-enhanced association of VAMP/SNAP-25/syntaxin 1a. These data suggest that post-translational modification of sulfhydryl groups by a nitrogen monoxide (likely to be NO+) alters the synaptic protein interactions that regulate neurotransmitter release and synaptic plasticity.

Expression of a multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and mutational analysis of its autoregulation

Autophosphorylation of multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase converts it from a Ca2(+)-dependent to a Ca2(+)-independent or autonomous kinase, a process that may underlie some long-term enhancement of transient Ca2+ signals. We demonstrate that the neuronal alpha subunit clone expressed in COS-7 cells (alpha-CaM kinase) is sufficient to encode the regulatory phenomena characteristic of the multisubunit kinase isolated from brain. Activity of alpha-CaM kinase is highly dependent on Ca2+/calmodulin. It is converted by autophosphorylation to an enzyme capable of Ca2(+)-independent (autonomous) substrate phosphorylation and autophosphorylation. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we separately eliminate five putative autophosphorylation sites within the regulatory domain and directly examine their individual roles. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity is fully retained by each mutant, but Thr286 is unique among the sites in being indispensable for generation of an autonomous kinase.

Inhibition of hippocampal heme oxygenase, nitric oxide synthase, and long-term potentiation by metalloporphyrins

Four potent metalloporphyrin inhibitors of heme oxygenase were used to assess whether carbon monoxide production was required for induction of LTP in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Although the metalloporphyrins produced a similar and substantial inhibition of heme oxygenase activity in hippocampal slices, only two compounds reduced the amount of LTP elicited by tetanic stimulation (chromium mesoporphyrin IX and zinc protoporphyrin IX). Both chromium mesoporphyrin IX and zinc protoporphyrin IX inhibited nitric oxide synthase in the hippocampus; tin mesoporphyrin IX and zinc deuteroporphyrin IX bis glycol neither reduced LTP induction nor inhibited NOS activity, although they did inhibit heme oxygenase. None of these metalloporphyrins reversed established LTP. Thus, together these data do not support carbon monoxide as a mediator in either LTP induction or expression/maintenance and emphasize further the nonselectivity of some metalloporphyrins.