Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity and expression are altered in the hippocampus of Pb2+-exposed rats.

Authors: Toscano, Christopher D; O'Callaghan, James P; Guilarte, Tomas R

Published In Brain Res, (2005 May 17)

Abstract: In the present study, we examined whether calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is affected by chronic developmental Pb2+ exposure. The effects of Pb2+ exposure on rat hippocampal CaMKII were assessed by measuring CaMKII activity, phosphorylation of CaMKII at threonine-286, and CaMKII alpha and beta protein levels. In the hippocampus of Pb2+-exposed 50-day-old rats known to exhibit deficits in hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and spatial learning, there was a marked reduction (41%) in the apparent maximal velocity (Vmax) of CaMKII and a significant increase (22%) in apparent affinity of the enzyme. These Pb2+-induced changes in CaMKII activity could not be explained by changes in enzyme phosphorylation at threonine-286 or sensitivity to calmodulin. In vitro incubation of hippocampal homogenates from control rats, but not from Pb2+-exposed rats, with Pb2+ prior to assay recapitulated the increase in the affinity of the enzyme observed with in vivo exposure to Pb2+. Western blots of cytosolic and membrane fractions from hippocampus showed a significant decrease in the levels of CaMKII-beta but not alpha protein in the cytosolic fraction of Pb2+-exposed rats. These findings indicate effects of developmental Pb2+ exposure on CaMKII, a component of calcium signaling associated with synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory.

PubMed ID: 15862789 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

Back
to Top