Premium
Expression of phospho‐Ca 2+ /calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II in the pre‐ B ötzinger complex of rats
Author(s) -
Kang JunJun,
Wei XiaoYan,
Liu JinPing,
WongRiley Margaret T. T.,
Ju Gong,
Liu YingYing
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/jnc.12297
Subject(s) - excitatory postsynaptic potential , neurotransmission , neuroscience , chemistry , biophysics , synaptic plasticity , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , receptor , biochemistry
The pre‐Bötzinger complex (pre‐BötC) in the ventrolateral medulla oblongata is a presumed kernel of respiratory rhythmogenesis. Ca 2+ ‐activated non‐selective cationic current is an essential cellular mechanism for shaping inspiratory drive potentials. Ca 2+ /calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), an ideal ‘interpreter’ of diverse Ca 2+ signals, is highly expressed in neurons in mediating various physiological processes. Yet, less is known about Ca MKII activity in the pre‐BötC. Using neurokinin‐1 receptor as a marker of the pre‐BötC, we examined phospho (P)‐Ca MKII subcellular distribution, and found that P‐Ca MKII was extensively expressed in the region. P‐Ca MKII ‐ir neurons were usually oval, fusiform, or pyramidal in shape. P‐Ca MKII immunoreactivity was distributed within somas and dendrites, and specifically in association with the post‐synaptic density. In dendrites, most synapses (93.1%) examined with P‐Ca MKII expression were of asymmetric type, occasionally with symmetric type (6.9%), whereas in somas, 38.1% were of symmetric type. P‐Ca MKII asymmetric synaptic identification implicates that Ca MKII may sense and monitor Ca 2+ activity, and phosphorylate post‐synaptic proteins to modulate excitatory synaptic transmission, which may contribute to respiratory modulation and plasticity. In somas, Ca MKII acts on both symmetric and asymmetric synapses, mediating excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. P‐Ca MKII was also localized to the perisynaptic and extrasynaptic regions in the pre‐BötC.