Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.11.1 (protein kinase)
 81,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have explored the organization of the axonal lobes in Drosophila mushroom bodies by using a panel of immunohistochemical markers. These markers consist of antibodies to eight proteins expressed preferentially in the mushroom bodies: DAMB, DCO, DRK, FASII, LEO, OAMB, PKA RII, and RUT. Previous to this work, four axonal lobes, two projecting dorsally (alpha and alpha') and two medially (beta and gamma), had been described in Drosophila mushroom bodies. However, our analysis of immunohistochemically stained frontal and sagittal sections of the brain revealed three medially projecting lobes. The newly distinguished lobe, which we term beta', lies along the dorsal surface of beta, just posterior to gamma. In addition to resolving a fifth lobe, our studies revealed that there are specific lobe sets defined by equivalent marker expression levels. These sets are (1) the alpha and beta lobes, (2) the alpha' and beta' lobes, and (3) the gamma lobe and heel (a lateral projection formed by a hairpin turn of some of the peduncle fibers). All of the markers we have examined are consistent with these three sets. Previous Golgi studies demonstrate that each mushroom body cell projects one axon that branches into a dorsal lobe and a medial lobe, or one unbranched axon that projects medially. Taken together with the lobe sets listed above, we propose that there are three major projection configurations of mushroom body cell axons: (1) one branch in the alpha and one in the beta lobe, (2) one branch in the alpha' and one in the beta' lobe, and (3) one unbranched axon projecting to the heel and the gamma lobe. The fact that these neuron types exhibit differential expression levels of a number of mushroom body genes suggests that they may have corresponding functional differences. These functions may be conserved in the larvae, as several of these genes were expressed in larval and embryonic mushroom bodies as well. The basic mushroom body structure, including the denritic calyx, peduncle, and lobes, was already visible by the late stages of embryogenesis. With new insights into mushroom body organization, and the characterization of markers for developing mushroom bodies, we are beginning to understand how these structures form and function.
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PMID:Tripartite mushroom body architecture revealed by antigenic markers. 1045 71

Memory storage in the mammalian brain can be divided into a short-term phase that is independent of new protein synthesis and a long-term phase that requires synthesis of new RNA and proteins. A cellular model for these two phases has emerged from studies of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the three major excitatory synaptic pathways in the hippocampus. One especially effective protocol for inducing robust and persistent LTP is "theta-burst" stimulation, which is designed to mimic the firing patterns of hippocampal neurons recorded during exploratory behavior in intact awake animals. Unlike LTP induced by non-theta tetanization regimens, little is known about the biochemical mechanisms underlying theta-burst LTP in the hippocampus. In the present study, we examined theta-burst LTP in the Schaffer collateral pathway. We found that 3 sec of theta-burst stimulation induced a robust and persistent potentiation (theta L-LTP) in mouse hippocampal slices. This theta L-LTP was dependent on NMDA receptor activation. The initial or early phase of theta-LTP did not require either protein or RNA synthesis and was independent of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activation. In contrast, the late phase of theta-LTP required synthesis of proteins and RNA and was blocked by inhibitors of PKA. Prior induction of theta-LTP also occluded the potentiation elicited by chemical activation of PKA. Our results show that, like non-theta LTP, theta-induced LTP in area CA1 of the mouse hippocampus also involves transcription, translation, and PKA and suggest that cAMP-mediated gene transcription may be a common mechanism responsible for the late phases of LTP induced by both theta and non-theta patterns of stimulation.
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PMID:Brief theta-burst stimulation induces a transcription-dependent late phase of LTP requiring cAMP in area CA1 of the mouse hippocampus. 1045 66

The activities of protein kinases and phosphatases are believed to regulate neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity in brain. Numerous in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that synaptic strength appears stable under basal conditions and during long-term potentiation (LTP) expression. This may reflect a balance between protein kinase and phosphatase activities. To provide experimental evidence for this hypothesis, and based on our knowledge that Ca2+/CaM activates protein kinases and phosphatases and that postsynaptic Ca2+/CaM signal pathways play important roles in synaptic plasticity, we examined the contribution of postsynaptic Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases and calcineurin (CaN) in regulating synaptic strength. We show that inhibiting postsynaptic Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-KII) and Ca2+/phospholipitidyserine-dependent protein kinase (PKC) in hippocampal CA1 neurons attenuates significantly the expression of LTP, but not basal synaptic transmission. On the other hand, the inhibition of postsynaptic CaN enhances synaptic transmission at potentiated and naive synapses, and increases significantly the magnitude of synaptic potentiation during the induction phase of LTP. These results indicate that postsynaptic CaM-KII and PKC activities are essential for maintaining LTP expression, but CaN activity limits synaptic strength at stable levels during both basal and potentiated synaptic transmission; that is, the dynamic balance between protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation that sets physiological synaptic strength is dominated by CaN activity.
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PMID:The balance between postsynaptic Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinase and phosphatase activities controlling synaptic strength. 1045 87

Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase has long been thought to play an important role in modulating synaptic efficacy. It has been shown previously that mice lacking the brain-specific gamma subtype of PKC display abnormal long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas ordinary synaptic transmission is unaffected by the mutation. We now examine the effects of phorbol esters, which are nonselective activators of PKC, on synaptic modulation in these mutant mice. In wild-type mice, phorbol esters produce marked enhancement of synaptic transmission that is largely presynaptic in origin, an effect that has been thought to share mechanisms with LTP. In mutant mice, phorbol ester-mediated potentiation is normal despite the absence of the major PKC isoform. As in wild-type mice, this synaptic enhancement is at least partly attributable to presynaptic changes. Our results demonstrate that the gamma isotype of PKC is not essential for phorbol ester-mediated synaptic facilitation, and place limitations on the possible roles of PKC in LTP.
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PMID:Phorbol ester effects at hippocampal synapses act independently of the gamma isoform of PKC. 1045 88

A critical period of protein kinase activity required for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) was determined in area CA1 or hippocampal slices using the broad-range and potent protein kinase inhibitors K-252a and staurosporine. As reported previously, K-252a and staurosporine blocked LTP induction when applied before, during, and after high-frequency stimulation (HFS). In contrast, K-252a did not block LTP when applied only before and during HFS and washed out immediately after HFS. K-252a and staurosporine both attenuated LTP magnitude when applied immediately after or as late as 5 min after HFS. However, K-252a applications beginning 30-45 min after HFS did not affect LTP expression significantly. K-252a had no detectable effect on isolated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated EPSPs but significantly inhibited the in situ phosphorylation of specific hippocampal proteins (synapsin I, MARCKS, and B-50). In addition, K-252a attenuated 4 beta-phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu)-enhanced synaptic transmission. Our results indicate that there is a critical period of protein kinase activity required for LTP induction that extends for approximately 20 min after HFS. In addition, our results suggest that protein kinase activity during and immediately after HFS is not sufficient for LTP induction. These results provide new information about the mechanisms that underlie LTP induction and expression and provide evidence for persistent and/or Ca(2+)-independent protein kinase activity involvement in LTP.
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PMID:A critical period of protein kinase activity after tetanic stimulation is required for the induction of long-term potentiation. 1046 68

The requirement for cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in associative learning of Drosophila was assessed in mutant flies hemizygous for a cold-sensitive allele, X4, of the DC0 gene, which encodes the major catalytic subunit of PKA. DC0X4 hemizygotes died as third-instar larvae at 18 degrees C, the restrictive temperature, but were viable when raised at 25 degrees C. Shifting adult DC0X4 hemizygotes from 25 degrees C to 18 degrees C led to a decrease in PKA activity from 24% to 16% of wild-type without impairing viability. At 25 degrees C, DC0X4 hemizygotes exhibited reduced initial learning relative to controls but normal memory decay in a Pavlovian olfactory learning assay. Shifting the temperature from 25 degrees C to 18 degrees C prior to training reduced initial learning to a similar extent in DC0X4 hemizygotes and controls but resulted in a steeper memory decay curve only in DC0X4 hemizygotes. These observations are suggestive of a role for PKA in medium-term memory formation in addition to its previously established role in initial learning.
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PMID:Effects of a conditional Drosophila PKA mutant on olfactory learning and memory. 1046 82

To study how the late phase of long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus arises, we examined the resulting LTP for its time course and its dependence on protein synthesis and different second-messenger kinases by applying various conditioning tetani. We find that one high-frequency train (100 Hz) produces a form of LTP that lasts longer than 1 hr but less than 3 hr (the early phase of LTP, or E-LTP). It is blocked by inhibitors of calcium/calmodulin kinase II (Cam kinase II) but is not affected by an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase [protein kinase A (PKA) and the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin] nor is it occluded by the cAMP activator forskolin. In contrast, when three high-frequency trains are used, the resulting potentiation persists for at least 6-10 hr. The L-LTP induced by three trains differs from the E-LTP in that it requires new protein synthesis, is blocked by an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and is occluded by forskolin. These results indicate that the two mechanistically distinctive forms of LTP, a transient, early component (E-LTP) and a more enduring form (L-LTP), can be recruited selectively by changing the number of conditioning tetanic trains. Repeated tetani induce a PKA and protein synthesis-dependent late component that adds to the amplitude and duration of the potentiation induced by a single tetanus.
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PMID:Recruitment of long-lasting and protein kinase A-dependent long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of hippocampus requires repeated tetanization. 1046 87

Perfusion of hippocampal slices with an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase-blocked induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) produced by a one-train tetanus and significantly reduced LTP by a two-train tetanus, but only slightly reduced LTP by a four-train tetanus. Inhibitors of heme oxygenase, the synthetic enzyme for carbon monoxide (CO), significantly reduced LTP by either a two-train or four-train tetanus. These results suggest that NO and CO are both involved in LTP but may play somewhat different roles. One possibility is that NO serves a phasic, signaling role, whereas CO provides tonic, background stimulation. Another possibility is that NO and CO are phasically activated under somewhat different circumstances, perhaps involving different receptors and second messengers. Because NO is known to be activated by stimulation of NMDA receptors during tetanus, we investigated the possibility that CO might be activated by stimulation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Consistent with this idea, long-lasting potentiation by the mGluR agonist tACPD was blocked by inhibitors of heme oxygenase but not NO synthase. Potentiation by tACPD was also blocked by inhibitors of soluble guanylyl cyclase (a target of both NO and CO) or cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and guanylyl cyclase was activated by tACPD in hippocampal slices. However, biochemical assays indicate that whereas heme oxygenase is constitutively active in hippocampus, it does not appear to be stimulated by either tetanus or tACPD. These results are most consistent with the possibility that constitutive (tonic) rather than stimulated (phasic) heme oxygenase activity is necessary for potentiation by tetanus or tACPD, and suggest that mGluR activation stimulates guanylyl cyclase phasically through some other pathway.
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PMID:On the respective roles of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide in long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. 1035 25

Although recent studies indicate that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, the underlying signaling mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we have characterized the signaling events that mediate the BDNF modulation of high-frequency synaptic transmission. Mitogen-associated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphotidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), and phospholipase C-gamma (PLC-gamma) are the three signaling pathways known to mediate neurotrophin signaling in other systems. In neonatal hippocampal slices, application of BDNF rapidly activated MAPK and PI3K but not PLC-gamma. BDNF greatly attenuated synaptic fatigue at CA1 synapses induced by a train of high-frequency, tetanic stimulation (HFS). Inhibition of the MAPK and PI3K, but not PLC-gamma, prevented the BDNF modulation of high-frequency synaptic transmission. Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), a close relative of BDNF, did not activate MAPK or PI3K and had no effect on synaptic fatigue in the neonatal hippocampus. Neither forskolin, which activated MAPK but not PI3 kinase, nor ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), which activated PI3K but not MAPK, affected HFS-induced synaptic fatigue. Treatment of the slices with forskolin together with CNTF still had no effect on synaptic fatigue. Thus, although the activation of MAPK and PI3K is required, the two together are not sufficient to mediate the BDNF effect. Inhibition of new protein synthesis by anisomycin or cycloheximide did not prevent the BDNF effect. These data suggest that BDNF modulation of high-frequency transmission is independent of protein synthesis but requires MAPK and PI3K and yet another signaling pathway to act together in the hippocampus.
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PMID:Signaling mechanisms mediating BDNF modulation of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. 1049 6

Application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to hippocampal neurons has profound effects on glutamatergic synaptic transmission. Both pre- and postsynaptic actions have been identified that depend on the age and type of preparation. To understand the nature of this diversity, we have begun to examine the mechanisms of BDNF action in cultured dissociated embryonic hippocampal neurons. Whole-cell patch-clamp recording during iontophoretic application of glutamate revealed that BDNF doubled the amplitude of induced inward current. Coexposure to BDNF and the NMDA receptor antagonist AP-5 markedly reduced, but did not entirely prevent, the increase in current. Coexposure to BDNF and ifenprodil, an NR2B subunit antagonist, reproduced the response observed with AP-5, suggesting BDNF primarily enhanced activity of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors with a lesser effect on non-NMDA receptors. Protein kinase involvement was confirmed with the broad spectrum inhibitor staurosporine, which prevented the response to BDNF. PKCI19-31 and H-89, selective antagonists of PKC and PKA, had no effect on the response to BDNF, whereas autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide, an antagonist of CaM kinase II, reduced response magnitude by 60%. These results demonstrate the predominant role of a specific NMDA receptor subtype in BDNF modulation of hippocampal synaptic transmission.
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PMID:Blockade of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors prevents BDNF enhancement of glutamatergic transmission in hippocampal neurons. 1049 7


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