No description available.

Die LAMMER-Kinasen sind Dual-Spezifität-Proteinkinasen, die durch das namensgebende einzigartige LAMMER-Motiv gekennzeichnet sind. Sie sind evolutionär hoch konserviert und in den meisten Eukaryonten vorhanden. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die erste funktionelle Charakterisierung eines bisher kaum erforschten Vertreters der LAMMER-Proteinkinase Familie Kns1 aus der Bäckerhefe dar. Phänotypische Analysen belegten eine entscheidende Rolle für Kns1 in der Regulation der Toleranz gegenüber basischem pH-Stress. Das Entfernen des KNS1 Gens führte zu einer gesteigerten Empfindlichkeit der Zellen gegenüber basischen Wachstumsbedingungen. Weitere Analysen zeigten, dass Kns1 neben der katalytischen Aktivität auch nicht-katalytischen Mechanismen zur Förderung des Zellwachstums unter alkalischem pH-Stress nutzt. Die Reinigung des Kns1 Proteins in voller Länge aus E. coli ermöglichte die Identifizierung von neun in vitro-Autophosphorylierungsstellen mittels Massenspektrometrie. Die Mutation von Thr562, eine Autophosphorylierungsstelle innerhalb des LAMMER-Motivs, zu Alanin ergab in vitro eine Kinase mit intrinsischer katalytischer Aktivität, die sich jedoch in vivo hauptsächlich wie die katalytisch inaktive Kns1-Mutante verhielt. Die Calcium/Calmodulin-abhängige Proteinkinase II Cmk2, die konstitutiv autokatalytische Eigenschaften besitzt, wurde früher als mögliches in vitro Substrat von Kns1 vorgeschlagen. In dieser Arbeit beweise ich durch Verwendung einer katalytisch inaktiven Cmk2-Mutante als Substrat, dass Kns1 Cmk2 in vitro phosphoryliert. Darüber hinaus zeige ich, dass Cmk2 die basische pH-Toleranz der Zellen beschränkt. Gestützt durch genetische Hinweise agieren beide Proteine gemeinsam bei der Regulation der alkalischen Stresstoleranz, wobei Kns1 möglicherweise Cmk2 herabreguliert. Zusammenfassend beschreibt diese Arbeit eine neue und entscheidende Rolle von Kns1 und Cmk2 bei der Anpassung der Hefe an alkalisches Milieu. / The LAMMER protein kinases, termed after a unique signature motif found in their catalytic domains, are an evolutionary conserved family of dual-specificity kinases that are present in most eukaryotes. Here I report the first functional characterization of one of the most unexplored members of the LAMMER family, the budding yeast Kns1. Phenotypic analysis uncovered a crucial role for Kns1 in the control of the yeast tolerance to high pH stress. Deletion of the KNS1 gene conferred high sensitivity to alkaline pH, whereas its overexpression increased tolerance to this stress. Further analysis established that Kns1 promotes growth under alkaline pH stress using not only its catalytic activity but also non-catalytic mechanisms. Large-scale purification of full-length Kns1 from E. coli allowed for the identification of nine in vitro autophosphorylation sites on Kns1 by mass spectrometry. Mutation of the threonine residue at position 562, an autophosphorylation site located within the LAMMER motif, to a non-phosphorylatable residue yielded a kinase that preserves intrinsic catalytic activity in vitro but mostly behaves like the catalytically inactive mutant in vivo. This finding showed the physiological importance of autophosphorylation site Thr562 in the regulation of Kns1 function. The protein Cmk2, a calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II with autocatalytic properties, has been previously proposed as a possible in vitro substrate for Kns1. Here I demonstrate that Kns1 phosphorylates Cmk2 in vitro using a catalytically inactive Cmk2 mutant as substrate and show that Cmk2 restricts alkaline tolerance. Genetic evidence suggested that both proteins act in concert on a common pathway, in which Kns1 may downregulate Cmk2 to confer alkaline tolerance. In conclusion, this thesis describes a novel and crucial role for Kns1 and its in vitro substrate Cmk2 in the adaptation of yeast to alkaline stress.

Synaptic long-term modifications following neuronal activation are believed to be at the origin of learning and long-term memory. Recent experiments suggest that these long-term synaptic changes are all-or-none switch-like events between discrete states of a single synapse. The biochemical network involving calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and its regulating protein signaling cascade has been hypothesized to durably maintain the synaptic state in form of a bistable switch. Furthermore, it has been shown experimentally that CaMKII and associated proteins such as protein kinase A and calcineurin are necessary for the induction of long-lasting increases (long-term potentiation, LTP) and/or long-lasting decreases (long-term depression, LTD) of synaptic efficacy. However, the biochemical mechanisms by which experimental LTP/LTD protocols lead to corresponding transitions between the two states in realistic models of such networks are still unknown. We present a detailed biochemical model of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent autophosphorylation of CaMKII and the protein signaling cascade governing the dephosphorylation of CaMKII. As previously shown, two stable states of the CaMKII phosphorylation level exist at resting intracellular calcium concentrations. Repetitive high calcium levels switch the system from a weakly- to a highly phosphorylated state (LTP). We show that the reverse transition (LTD) can be mediated by elevated phosphatase activity at intermediate calcium levels. It is shown that the CaMKII kinase-phosphatase system can qualitatively reproduce plasticity results in response to spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) and presynaptic stimulation protocols. A reduced model based on the CaMKII system is used to elucidate which parameters control the synaptic plasticity outcomes in response to STDP protocols, and in particular how the plasticity results depend on the differential activation of phosphatase and kinase pathways and the level of noise in the calcium transients. Our results show that the protein network including CaMKII can account for (i) induction - through LTP/LTD-like transitions - and (ii) storage - due to its bistability - of synaptic changes. The model allows to link biochemical properties of the synapse with phenomenological 'learning rules' used by theoreticians in neural network studies.

No description available.

Synaptic long-term modifications following neuronal activation are believed to be at the origin of learning and long-term memory. Recent experiments suggest that these long-term synaptic changes are all-or-none switch-like events between discrete states of a single synapse. The biochemical network involving calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and its regulating protein signaling cascade has been hypothesized to durably maintain the synaptic state in form of a bistable switch. Furthermore, it has been shown experimentally that CaMKII and associated proteins such as protein kinase A and calcineurin are necessary for the induction of long-lasting increases (long-term potentiation, LTP) and/or long-lasting decreases (long-term depression, LTD) of synaptic efficacy. However, the biochemical mechanisms by which experimental LTP/LTD protocols lead to corresponding transitions between the two states in realistic models of such networks are still unknown. We present a detailed biochemical model of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent autophosphorylation of CaMKII and the protein signaling cascade governing the dephosphorylation of CaMKII. As previously shown, two stable states of the CaMKII phosphorylation level exist at resting intracellular calcium concentrations. Repetitive high calcium levels switch the system from a weakly- to a highly phosphorylated state (LTP). We show that the reverse transition (LTD) can be mediated by elevated phosphatase activity at intermediate calcium levels. It is shown that the CaMKII kinase-phosphatase system can qualitatively reproduce plasticity results in response to spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) and presynaptic stimulation protocols. A reduced model based on the CaMKII system is used to elucidate which parameters control the synaptic plasticity outcomes in response to STDP protocols, and in particular how the plasticity results depend on the differential activation of phosphatase and kinase pathways and the level of noise in the calcium transients. Our results show that the protein network including CaMKII can account for (i) induction - through LTP/LTD-like transitions - and (ii) storage - due to its bistability - of synaptic changes. The model allows to link biochemical properties of the synapse with phenomenological 'learning rules' used by theoreticians in neural network studies.