Calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II mRNA in the gerbil brain after cerebral ischemia

The effect of transient cerebral ischemia on the expression of Ca2+/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) mRNA in the gerbil brain was analyzed by Northern blots using cDNA clones for CaM kinase II. Ten minutes of bilateral carotid occlusion and 30 min of reperfusion resulted in reduced protein levels for alpha and beta subunits of the CaM kinase II, decreasing to 35% of control levels at 24 h. Recovery of immunoreactivity was detected in the cortex after 48 h. Eight to twelve hours after ischemia, the cortex showed a decrease in alpha and beta CaM kinase II mRNA levels. By 12-24 h of reperfusion the level of CaM kinase II mRNA was reduced to 26% of the control mRNA levels. CaM kinase II mRNA levels recovered by 48 h after ischemia, coinciding with the increase in CaM kinase II protein immunoreactivity. These results suggest that CaM kinase II is involved in neuronal survival through the reorganization of the neuroarchitecture and that the regulation of this role is controlled at the level of gene expression.