Abstract
Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaM-kinase IV), which plays crucial roles in the functioning of Ca2+ in the central nervous system and immune system, is markedly activated upon phosphorylation by the action of CaM-kinase IV kinase. Northern and Western blot analyses of CaM-kinase IV kinase showed relatively weak reactions in the rat cerebellum, where the activity of CaM-kinase IV kinase has been demonstrated to exist, indicating that CaM-kinase IV kinase isoforms distinct from the enzyme cloned from the cerebral cortex may exist in the cerebellum. When the crude extracts of rat cerebral cortex, brain stem, and cerebellum were immunotitrated with antibody against the cloned enzyme, only approximately 46, 56, and 25% of the enzyme activity of the respective extracts were immunoprecipitated. Thus, at least two distinct isoforms of CaM-kinase IV kinase appear to exist in the brain.
