RESUMEN
Soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC; ADCY10) is a bicarbonate (HCO3 -)-regulated enzyme responsible for the generation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). sAC is distributed throughout the cell and within organelles and, as such, plays a role in numerous cellular signalling pathways. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) nearly instantaneously equilibrate HCO3 -, protons and carbon dioxide (CO2); because of the ubiquitous presence of CAs within cells, HCO3 --regulated sAC can respond to changes in any of these factors. Thus, sAC can function as a physiological HCO3 -/CO2/pH sensor. Here, we outline examples where we have shown that sAC responds to changes in HCO3 -, CO2 or pH to regulate diverse physiological functions.
RESUMEN
The abundant synaptic protein CaMKII is necessary for long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory. However, whether CaMKII is required only during initial processes or whether it also mediates memory storage remains unclear. The most direct test of a storage role is the erasure test. In this test, a putative memory molecule is inhibited after learning. The key prediction is that this should produce persistent memory erasure even after the inhibitory agent is removed. We conducted this test using transient viral (HSV) expression of dominant-negative CaMKII-alpha (K42M) in the hippocampus. This produced persistent erasure of conditioned place avoidance. As an additional test, we found that expression of activated CaMKII (T286D/T305A/T306A) impaired place avoidance, a result not expected if a process other than CaMKII stores memory. Our behavioral results, taken together with prior experiments on LTP, strongly support a critical role of CaMKII in LTP maintenance and memory storage.