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Published 26 September 2005. doi:10.1083/jcb.200503118
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $8.00
JCB, Volume 170, Number 7, 1147-1158
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Article

Spines and neurite branches function as geometric attractors that enhance protein kinase C action



Madeleine L. Craske1, Marc Fivaz1, Nizar N. Batada2, and Tobias Meyer1

1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
2 Program in Biophysics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305

Correspondence to Tobias Meyer: tobias1{at}stanford.edu

Ca2+ and diacylglycerol-regulated protein kinase Cs (PKCs; conventional PKC isoforms, such as PKC{gamma}) are multifunctional signaling molecules that undergo reversible plasma membrane translocation as part of their mechanism of activation. In this article, we investigate PKC{gamma} translocation in hippocampal neurons and show that electrical or glutamate stimulation leads to a striking enrichment of PKC{gamma} in synaptic spines and dendritic branches. Translocation into spines and branches was delayed when compared with the soma plasma membrane, and PKC{gamma} remained in these structures for a prolonged period after the response in the soma ceased. We have developed a quantitative model for the translocation process by measuring the rate at which PKC{gamma} crossed the neck of spines, as well as cytosolic and membrane diffusion coefficients of PKC{gamma}. Our study suggests that neurons make use of a high surface-to-volume ratio of spines and branches to create a geometric attraction process for PKC that imposes a delayed enhancement of PKC action at synapses and in peripheral processes.

N.N. Batada's present address is Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, M5G 1X5 Canada.

Abbreviations used in this paper: cPKC, conventional PKC isoform; NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid; PH, pleckstrin homology; RFP, red fluorescent protein; SVR, surface-to-volume ratio.


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