CAMK II alpha Antibody / CAMK2A

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit alpha (CAMKIIa), a.k.a. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha, is a protein kinase (i.e., an enzyme which phosphorylates proteins) that in humans is encoded by the CAMK2A gene. It is mapped to 5q32. The product of this gene belongs to the serine/threonine protein kinases family, and to the Ca (2+) /calmodulin-dependent protein kinases subfamily. Calcium signaling is crucial for several aspects of plasticity at glutamatergic synapses. This calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is composed of four different chains: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. The alpha chain encoded by this gene is required for hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and spatial learning. In addition to its calcium-calmodulin (CaM) -dependent activity, this protein can undergo autophosphorylation, resulting in CaM-independent activity. Several transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been identified for this gene.