Activation-triggered subunit exchange between CaMKII holoenzymes facilitates the spread of kinase activity

Abstract

The activation of the dodecameric Ca2+/calmodulin dependent kinase II (CaMKII) holoenzyme is critical for memory formation. We now report that CaMKII has a remarkable property, which is that activation of the holoenzyme triggers the exchange of subunits between holoenzymes, including unactivated ones, enabling the calcium-independent phosphorylation of new subunits. We show, using a single-molecule TIRF microscopy technique, that the exchange process is triggered by the activation of CaMKII, and that exchange is modulated by phosphorylation of two residues in the calmodulin-binding segment, Thr 305 and Thr 306. Based on these results, and on the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations, we suggest that the phosphorylated regulatory segment of CaMKII interacts with the central hub of the holoenzyme and weakens its integrity, thereby promoting exchange. Our results have implications for an earlier idea that subunit exchange in CaMKII may have relevance for information storage resulting from brief coincident stimuli during neuronal signaling.How do fleeting signals passing through the neurons of our brains become memories that can last for years or even decades? An enzyme called CaMKII is known to have an important role in the formation of memories. CaMKII adds phosphate groups to proteins—a process that is called phosphorylation—and is itself activated when calcium levels increase inside the neurons where the enzyme is found.Individual CaMKII proteins bind together in groups of 12 to form a ‘holoenzyme’. When one of the 12 subunits is activated by calcium, it can phosphorylate the other subunits in the same holoenzyme. Once this happens, the activation of CaMKII can continue after the initial rise in calcium has ceased, and this effect is thought to be involved in the formation of long-term memories.30 years ago, Francis Crick—famous for his role in the discovery of the double helix—proposed that memory formation might involve ‘memory-storage molecules’ passing an activated state to unactivated molecules, and John Lisman later suggested that CaMKII could fulfil this role by swapping subunits of holoenzymes between activated and unactivated ones. Now, Stratton, Lee et al. have tested whether CaMKII can exchange subunits by using advanced microscopy to track single molecules of CaMKII labelled with fluorescent markers. This revealed that activation can cause CaMKII subunits repeatedly to mix between holoenzymes—and this only happens once a first holoenzyme has been activated.Subunits of CaMKII join together via a central ‘hub’ region, but when a subunit is activated, the phosphorylated segment may interact with the hub. This weakens the connections between the subunits, thereby making it easier for subunits to exchange between holoenzymes. This process provides a mechanism by which a level of activated CaMKII can be maintained, even if some subunits become degraded and long after the disappearance of the initial activation signal.