# CaMKII biophysics and its role in LTP

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2020 · $313,503

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
How does a memory outlast the lifetime of the molecule that encodes it? More than two decades ago, Francis
Crick had the foresight to speculate that perhaps a multimeric protein could serve as a molecular memory by
sharing its activation state with newly synthesized proteins through subunit exchange in order to store a
memory for years. Ca2+-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) was identified as an enzyme that may
fit this description. For example, mutation of CaMKII at sites critical for its function results in severe learning
and memory defects. CaMKII is activated at a threshold neuronal spike frequency and is crucial to long-term
potentiation (LTP). A major obstacle to understanding LTP is the absence of understanding how regulatory
pathways recruited during this initial high-frequency stimulus are able to remain persistently active in the face
of ongoing protein turnover. Our recent work has shown that CaMKII exchanges subunits between
holoenzymes in an activation-dependent manner. Importantly, kinase activity is conferred to unactivated
CaMKII holoenzymes by trans-phosphorylation as a consequence of subunit exchange, thereby potentiating
the activation signal past the time of protein degradation. This cycle may continue indefinitely. Our work is
aimed to further investigate this phenomenon, specifically in respect to its role in LTP. Our major research
goals are to: 1) understand the role of the unique biophysical properties of CaMKII (how linker length affects
activation, frequency dependence and subunit exchange) that contribute to its potential for being a `memory
molecule,' and 2) investigate the properties of CaMKII (such as subunit exchange and changes in gene
expression) in cellular systems to determine its physiological role in LTP. These challenging goals require the
synthesis of information obtained from the molecular level (protein structure and regulation) to the cellular level
(mammalian cell culture) and finally to the animal level (transgenic mice), which will be for future study.
Completion of the proposed work will allow us to better address neurologic disease progression as it affects
memory, such as pathologies seen in Alzheimer's, dementia, and traumatic brain injury.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9828561
- **Project number:** 5R01GM123157-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** Margaret M Stratton
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $313,503
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-01 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9828561

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9828561, CaMKII biophysics and its role in LTP (5R01GM123157-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9828561. Licensed CC0.

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