Alpha calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II selectively expressed in a subpopulation of excitatory neurons in monkey sensory-motor cortex: comparison with GAD-67 expression

In situ hybridization histochemistry and immunocytochemistry, including double immunofluorescence, were used to study the populations of neurons expressing the alpha subunit of type II calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CAM II kinase-alpha) or glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in the somatic sensory and motor areas of the macaque monkey cerebral cortex. Sections were subjected to in situ hybridization using radioactive, complementary RNA probes specific for monkey CAM II kinase-alpha or 67 kDa GAD mRNAs. Others were stained immunocytochemically for CAM II kinase-alpha and/or GABA. CAM II kinase-alpha and GAD-67 are expressed in different populations of cells, with no colocalization. CAM II kinase-alpha is expressed in pyramidal cells of layers II-VI, especially layers II and III, as well as in certain small nonpyramidal cells of layer IV in areas 3a, 3b, 1, and 2 and of middle regions of area 4. Both cell types produce excitatory amino acid transmitters. Therefore, as in subcortical regions, CAM II kinase-alpha will be found on the presynaptic side of excitatory synapses but on the postsynaptic side only when these synapses occur on excitatory neurons in the sensory-motor cortex. Quantitative examination showed that CAM II kinase-alpha immunoreactive cells form, on average, approximately 50% of the total neuronal population in each area, while GABA immunoreactive or GAD cRNA hybridized cells form approximately 25-30%. Thus, CAM II kinase-alpha expressing cells cannot account for the total population of non-GABAergic cortical cells, and a certain proportion of the pyramidal cells probably do not express it. In other cortical areas, gene expression for the two molecules is regulated by afferent activity. Therefore, the present results form a necessary basis for studies aimed at determining the role of activity-dependent changes in the balance of excitation and inhibition as a mechanism underlying plasticity of representational maps in the primate sensory-motor cortex.