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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Identification of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 1 Specific Phosphorylation Sites by an In Vitro Kinase Assay
Published on: May 3, 2018
Regulation of NMDA receptors by cyclin-dependent kinase-5
1Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Laboratory of Adaptive Systems, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Members of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) class of glutamate receptors (NMDARs) are critical for development, synaptic transmission, learning and memory; they are targets of pathological disorders in the central nervous system. NMDARs are phosphorylated by both serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases. Here, we demonstrate that cyclin dependent kinase-5 (Cdk5) associates with and phosphorylates NR2A subunits at Ser-1232 in vitro and in intact cells. Moreover, we show that roscovitine, a selective Cdk5 inhibitor, blocks both long-term potentiation induction and NMDA-evoked currents in rat CA1 hippocampal neurons. These results suggest that Cdk5 plays a key role in synaptic transmission and plasticity through its up-regulation of NMDARs.
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