Mechanisms of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II activation in single dendritic spines

Abstract

Activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) in dendritic spines is a key step of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction, yet the exact biochemical steps of CaMKIIα activation in dendritic spines remained elusive. In this study, the authors developed a novel imaging approach to monitor CaM interactions CaMKIIα in cultured hippocampal neurons after uncaging of glutamate. This allowed the authors to model the kinetics of CaMKIIα activation in single dendritic spines.