BBB seminar: Stein Ove Døskeland
cAMP-dependent protein kinase - still an enigmatic enzyme
Main content
Stein Ove Døskeland
Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is a signalling molecule in bacteria, where it activates a transcription factor (CAP) under conditions of carbohydrate starvation. In man, the single cAMP-binding site of CAP has evolved to create the following cyclic nucleotide monophosphate (cNMP)-binding domains: two in each of the RIα, RIβ, RIIα and RIIβ subunits of cAMP-kinase, two in each of the three cGMP-kinase isoforms, one in Epac1, two in Epac2, and one in each of the several cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channels.
The presentation will concentrate on novel findings on the control of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). PKA is important for hormone synthesis and hormone action as well as in cell cycle control and differentiation. PKA has profound effects on gene regulation and is required for memory. It is a hot therapeutic target in Altzheimer´s disease. Our findings on the role of PKA relative to Epac on cAMP-induced neurite extensions will be discussed.