Protein kinase A PKA

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) activates PKA, which in turn phosphor-ylates Cx43 in rat cardiomyocytes.33 Increases in the cAMP concentration increase electrical conductance between paired cardiomyocytes31,34,35 and increase cell permeability - assessed as dye transfer - in non-cardiomyocytes.36 38 Apart from increased cell-cell conductance and permeability, cAMP also increases the extent of gap junction formation.36 38 Increased cAMP concentration results from its enhanced production following stimulation of adenyl cyclase or from inhibition of phosphodiesterase III secondary to an increased concentration of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP).39-41 

At a higher concentration, cGMP activates PKG (for review, see40). cGMP decreases single channel conductance in rat cardiomyocytes2 -31 as well as cell-cell conductance20,31-34 and permeability.31 

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AKAPs are a diverse family of about 75 scaffolding proteins. They are defined by the presence of a structurally conserved protein kinase A (PKA)-binding domain. AKAPs tether PKA and other signalling proteins to cellular compartments and thereby limit and integrate cellular signalling processes at specific sites. This compartmentalization of signalling by AKAPs contributes to the specificity of a cellular response to a given external stimulus (e.g. a particular hormone or neurotransmitter). 

Heterologous desensitization is a form of desensitization which does not require agonist binding of the receptor. Second messenger dependent kinases such as protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) are involved in this form of receptor desensitization. Heterologous desensitization simply depends on the overall kinase activity which is regulated by many different stimuli. 

Protein kinase A (PKA) is a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, a member of a family of protein kinases that are activated by binding of cAMP to their two regulatory subunits, which results in the release of two active catalytic subunits. Targets of PKA include L-type calcium channels (the relevant subunit and site of phosphorylation is still uncertain), phospholam-ban (the regulator of the sarcoplasmic calcium ATPase, SERCA) and key enzymes of glucose and lipid metabolism. 

Sarcoplasmic calcium ATPase this enzyme utilizes the energy gained from hydrolysis of ATP to pump calcium from the cytosol into the stores of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Its activity is negatively regulated by the closely associated protein phospholamban, and this inhibition is relieved upon phosphorylation of phospholamban by protein kinase A (PKA). 

The partial backbone assignment of the catalytic domain of protein kinase A (PKA) using a combination of NMR techniques was reported in 2004 [51]. This represented the first reported NMR assignment of any protein kinase catalytic domain. Backbone resonance assignment of the 42kDa protein was achieved using a combination of triple-labelled ( H, N)... 

Upon activation, neurons begin trafficking TRPVl to the membrane where the receptors become activated, desensitized and then recycled to the intracellular compartments. Translocation of TRPVl to the cell membrane occurs via SNARE (snapin and synaptotagmin IX)-mediated exocytosis [37]. Broadly speaking, activation involves phosphorylation by protein kinases (most notably, protein kinase A [PKA] and C [PKC]) and desensitization involves de-phosphorylation by phosphatases (e.g. calcineurin) [38]. Among PKC isozymes, PKCp seems to be of particular importance [39]. 

Protein kinase B, or Akt, was discovered as the product of an oncogene of the acutely transforming retrovirus AKT8, causing T-cell lymphomas in mice. It encodes a fusion product of a cellular serine/threonine protein kinase and the viral structural protein Gag. This kinase is similar to both protein kinase Ce (PKCe 73% identity to the catalytic domain) and protein kinase A (PKA 68%). It differs from other protein kinases in that it contains a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, which allows it to bind to polyphosphoinositide head groups (and also to G-protein fly subunits). To date, three subtypes have been identified a, (3, and y, all of which show a broad tissue distribution. It... 

NE and EPI stimulate a- and (TAR on the cell surface of target tissues. P2-AR are expressed on almost all types of immune cells, with the notable exception of T-helper (Th)2 clones [3], P-AR on immunocytes are coupled with Gs proteins and adenylate cyclase, with subsequent activation increasing intracellular adenosine 3 , 5 -cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and protein kinase A (PKA). Under normal conditions, P-AR cell surface expression up- and down-regulates in response to reduced and increased catecholamine... 

The switch in the action of the enzyme between its kinase and phosphatase activities is brought about by phosphorylation mediated by the serine/threonine protein kinase A (PKA), the same cAMP dependent enzyme which plays a role in the control of glycogen metabolism. In its kinase form, PFK-2 is dephosphorylated but phosphorylated in the phosphatase form. 

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