Figure 2: CaMKv is required for dendritic spine maintenance and synaptic transmission.
From: The pseudokinase CaMKv is required for the activity-dependent maintenance of dendritic spines
(a) Western blot analysis of CaMKv expression in cortical neurons transfected with pSUPER vector (Vec), shRNAs (shCaMKv) or the corresponding scrambled control (Scr). (b,c) CaMKv knockdown significantly decreased dendritic spine density. The spine loss was rescued by co-expressing the RNAi-resistant wild-type (WT) CaMKv but not the A316R mutant (scale bar, 10 μm; n=39 dendrites per condition, ***P<0.001, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey’s multiple comparison test). (d) The pull-down experiment indicated that WT CaMKv but not the A316R mutant interacted with calmodulin (CaM). (e–h) CaMKv was required for synaptic transmission. (e) Representative miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (mEPSC) traces. (f,h) CaMKv knockdown significantly decreased mEPSC frequency, which was restored by co-expressing WT CaMKv. (g) No significant difference in mEPSC amplitude was observed among conditions (Scr: n=27 neurons, shCaMKv: n=29 neurons, WT CaMKv rescue: n=28 neurons, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s multiple comparison test).
