Two yeast genes encoding calmodulin-dependent protein kinases. Isolation, sequencing and bacterial expressions of CMK1 and CMK2

We have isolated two genes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that both encode a calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase). The CMK1 gene has been cloned by hybridization using an oligonucleotide probe synthesized on the basis of the peptide sequence of purified yeast CaM kinase (Londesborough, J. (1989) J. Gen. Microbiol. 135, 3373-3383). The other gene, CMK2, which is homologous to CMK1, has been isolated by screening at low stringency with a CMK1 fragment as a probe. The CMK2 product expressed in bacteria shows Ca(2+)- and CaM-dependent protein kinase activity, indicating that CMK2 also encodes a CaM kinase. The CMK1 and CMK2 products expressed in bacteria were found to have different biochemical properties in terms of autoregulatory activity and preference for yeast CaM or bovine CaM for maximal activity. Antibody raised against a peptide fragment of the CMK1 protein cross-reacts with the CMK2 product. Immunoblotting with this antibody indicated that the CMK1 and CMK2 products have apparent molecular masses of 56 and 50 kDa, respectively, in yeast cells. The predicted amino acid sequences of the two CMK products exhibit highest similarity with mammalian calmodulin-dependent multifunctional protein kinase II (CaM kinase II): the similarity within the N-terminal catalytic domain is about 40%, whereas that within the rest of the sequence is 25%. These data indicate that yeast has two kinds of genes encoding CaM kinase isozymes whose structural and functional properties are closely related to those of mammalian CaM kinase II. Another gene may be substituted for function of the CMK1 and CMK2 kinase in vivo, since elimination of both kinase genes is not lethal.     

The alpha subunit of type II Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is highly conserved in Drosophila

A monoclonal antibody against rat brain type II Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) precipitates three proteins from Drosophila heads with apparent molecular weights similar to those of the subunits of the rat brain kinase. Fly heads also contain a CaM kinase activity that becomes partially independent of Ca2+ after autophosphorylation, as does the rat brain kinase. We have isolated a Drosophila cDNA encoding an amino acid sequence that is 77% identical to the sequence of the rat alpha subunit. All known autophosphorylation sites are conserved, including the site that controls Ca(2+)-independent activity. The gene encoding the cDNA is located between 102E and F on the fourth chromosome. The protein product of this gene is expressed at much higher levels in the fly head than in the body. Thus, both the amino acid sequence and the tissue specificity of the mammalian kinase are highly conserved in Drosophila.     

Regulation of Plant Defense Response to Fungal Pathogens: Two Types of Protein Kinases in the Reversible Phosphorylation of the Host Plasma Membrane H+-ATPase

The role of reversible phosphorylation of the host plasma membrane H+-ATPase in signal transduction during the incompatible interaction between tomato cells and the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum was investigated. Tomato cells (with the Cf-5 resistance gene) or isolated plasma membranes from Cf-5 cells treated with elicitor preparations from race 2.3 or 4 of C. fulvum (containing the avr5 gene product) showed a marked dephosphorylation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase. Similar treatment with elicitor preparations from races 5 and 2.4.5.9.11 (lacking the avr5 gene product) showed no change in dephosphorylation. Elicitor (race 4) treatment of cells, but not of isolated plasma membranes, for 2 hr resulted in rephosphorylation of the ATPase via Ca2+-dependent protein kinases. The initial (first hour) rephosphorylation was enhanced by protein kinase C (PKC) activators and was prevented by PKC inhibitors. Activity of a second kinase appeared after 1 hr and was responsible for the continuing phosphorylation of the H+-ATPase. This latter Ca2+-dependent kinase was inhibited by a calmodulin (CaM) antagonist and by an inhibitor of Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II. The activation of the Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase depended on the prior activation of the PKC-like kinase.     

Chromosomal localization of the human gene for brain Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type IV

Cloned cDNAs have been identified as corresponding to a new brain Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. On the basis of structural and immunological features, we refer to this new kinase as CaM Kinase IV. Two cDNA clones were used to identify CaM Kinase IV: The downstream clone, lambda ICM-1, contains the sequence encoding the calmodulin-binding site and the second clone, lambda ICM-2, encodes a partial amino acid sequence similar to the catalytic domain of several known protein kinases. Within the calmodulin-binding site a stretch of 8 amino acids (and 9 of 10) is identical to the corresponding site in the subunits of CaM Kinase II. Southern blot analysis shows the CaM Kinase IV gene is single copy in the mouse and human genomes. Synteny analysis of Southern blot data of DNA from hamster--human hybrid cells shows that the gene is present in human chromosome 5. Hybridization of cDNA probes to metaphase spreads of human chromosomes indicates that the gene is most likely located within the region of bands q21 to q23 of chromosome 5.     

Detecting protein kinase recognition modes of calmodulin by residual dipolar couplings in solution NMR

Calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine kinases (CaM kinases) play crucial roles in Ca2+-dependent signaling transduction pathways in eukaryotes. Despite having a similar overall molecular architecture of catalytic and regulatory domains, CaM kinases employ different binding modes for Ca2+/CaM recruitment which is required for their activation. Here we present a residual dipolar coupling (RDC)-based NMR approach to characterizing the molecular recognition of CaM with five different CaM kinases. Our analyses indicate that CaM kinase I and likely IV use the same CaM binding mode as myosin light chain kinase (1-14 motif), distinct from those of CaM kinase II (1-10 motif) and CaM kinase kinase (1-16- motif). This NMR approach provides an efficient experimental guide for homology modeling and structural characterization of CaM-target complexes.     

Regulation of calcineurin by phosphorylation. Identification of the regulatory site phosphorylated by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and protein kinase C

The site in calcineurin, the Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein phosphatase, which is phosphorylated by Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II) has been identified. Analyses of 32P release from tryptic and cyanogen bromide peptides derived from [32P]calcineurin plus direct sequence determination established the site as -Arg-Val-Phe-Ser(PO4)-Val-Leu-Arg-, which conformed to the consensus phosphorylation sequence for CaM-kinase II (Arg-X-X-Ser/Thr-). This phosphorylation site is located at the C-terminal boundary of the putative CaM-binding domain in calcinerin (Kincaid, R. L., Nightingale, M. S., and Martin, B. M. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 85, 8983-8987), thereby accounting for the observed inhibition of this phosphorylation when Ca2+/CaM is bound to calcineurin. Since the phosphorylation site sequence also contains elements of the specificity determinants for Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) (basic residues both N-terminal and C-terminal to Ser/Thr), we tested calcineurin as a substrate for protein kinase C. Protein kinase C catalyzed rapid stoichiometric phosphorylation, and the characteristics of the reaction were the same as with CaM-kinase II: 1) the phosphorylation was blocked by binding of Ca2+/CaM to calcineurin; 2) phosphorylation partially inactivated calcineurin by increasing the Km (from 9.9 +/- 1.1 to 17.5 +/- 1.1 microM 32P-labeled myosin light chain); and 3) [32P]calcineurin exhibited very slow autodephosphorylation but was rapidly dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase IIA. Tryptic and thermolytic 32P-peptide mapping and sequential phosphoamino acid sequence analysis confirmed that protein kinase C and CaM-kinase II phosphorylated the same site.     

KN-62, 1-[N,O-bis(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpiperazi ne, a specific inhibitor of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II

1-[N,O-Bis(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpipera zine (KN-62), a selective inhibitor of rat brain Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (Ca2+/CaM kinase II) was synthesized and its inhibitory properties in vitro and in vivo were investigated. KN-62 inhibited phosphorylation of exogenous substrate (chicken gizzard myosin 20-kDa light chain) by Ca2+/CaM kinase II with Ki value of 0.9 microM, but no significant effect up to 100 microM on activities of chicken gizzard myosin light chain kinase, rabbit brain protein kinase C, and bovine heart cAMP-dependent protein kinase type II. KN-62 also inhibited the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent autophosphorylation of both alpha (50 kDa) and beta (60 kDa) subunits of Ca2+/CaM kinase II dose dependently in the presence or absence of exogenous substrate. Kinetic analysis indicated that this inhibitory effect of KN-62 was competitive with respect to calmodulin. However, KN-62 did not inhibit the activity of autophosphorylated Ca2+/CaM kinase II. Moreover, Ca2+/CaM kinase II bound to a KN-62-coupled Sepharose 4B column, but calmodulin did not. These results suggest that KN-62 affects the interaction between calmodulin and Ca2+/CaM kinase II following inhibition of this kinase activity by directly binding to the calmodulin binding site of the enzyme but does not affect the calmodulin-independent activity of already autophosphorylated (activated) enzyme. We examined the effect of KN-62 on cultured PC12 D pheochromocytoma cells. KN-62 suppressed the A23187 (0.5 microM)-induced autophosphorylation of the 53-kDa subunit of Ca2+/CaM kinase in PC12 D cells, which was immunoprecipitated with anti-rat forebrain Ca2+/CaM kinase II polypeptides antibodies coupled to Sepharose 4B, thereby suggesting that KN-62 could inhibit the Ca2+/CaM kinase II activity in vivo.     

A calmodulin-dependent protein kinase from lower eukaryote Physarum polycephalum

A full-length cDNA coding a calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase gene was cloned from Physarum plasmodia poly(A)-RNA by polymerase chain reaction with the oligonucleotide primers that were designed after the amino acid sequence of highly conserved regions of myosin light-chain kinase. Sequence analysis of the cDNA revealed that this Physarum kinase was a 42,519-Da protein with an ATP-binding domain, Ser/Thr kinase active site signature, and CaM-binding domain. Expression of the cDNA in Escherichia coli demonstrated that the Physarum kinase in the presence of Ca2+ and CaM phosphorylated the recombinant phosphorylatable light chain (PLc) of Physarum myosin II. The peptide analysis after proteolysis of the phosphorylated PLc indicated that Ser 18 was phosphorylated. The site was confirmed by the failure of phosphorylation of PLc, the Ser 18 of which was replaced by Ala. The physiological role of the kinase will be discussed with special reference to the 55-kDa kinase, which had been previously purified from Physarum plasmodia for phosphorylated PLc.     

Phosphorylation of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II: comparative study of the phosphorylation sites

Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase (MLC-kinase) was rapidly phosphorylated in vitro by the autophosphorylated form of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II) to a molar stoichiometry of 2.77 +/- 0.15 associated with a threefold increase in the concentration of calmodulin (CaM) required for half-maximal activation of MLC-kinase. Binding of CaM to MLC-kinase markedly reduced the phosphorylation stoichiometry to 0.21 +/- 0.05 and almost completely inhibited phosphorylation of sites in two peptides (32P-peptides P1 and P2) with reduced phosphorylation of peptide P3. By analogy, cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylated MLC-kinase to a stoichiometry of 3.0 or greater in the absence of CaM with about a threefold decrease in the apparent affinity of MLC-kinase for CaM. Binding of CaM to MLC-kinase inhibited the phosphorylation to 0.84 +/- 0.13. Complete tryptic digests contained two major 32P-peptides as reported previously. One of the peptides, whose phosphorylation was inhibited in the presence of excess calmodulin, appeared to be the same as P2. Automated Edman sequence analysis suggested that both CaM-kinase II and cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylated this peptide at the second of the two adjacent serine residues located at the C-terminal boundary of the CaM-binding domain. However, the other peptide phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, regardless of whether CaM was bound, was different from P1 and P3. Thus, MLC-kinase has a regulatory phosphorylation site(s) that is phosphorylated by the autophosphorylated form of CaM-kinase II and is blocked by Ca2+/CaM-binding.     

Differential autophosphorylation of CaM kinase II from phasic and tonic smooth muscle tissues

Ca+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) is regulated by calcium oscillations, autophosphorylation, and its subunit composition. All four subunit isoforms were detected in gastric fundus and proximal colon smooth muscles by RT-PCR, but only the gamma and delta isoforms are expressed in myocytes. Relative gamma and delta message levels were quantitated by real-time PCR. CaM kinase II protein and Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated (total) activity levels are higher in proximal colon smooth muscle lysates than in fundus lysates, but Ca2+/calmodulin-independent (autonomous) activity is higher in fundus lysates. CaM kinase II in fundus lysates is relatively unresponsive to Ca2+/calmodulin. Alkaline phosphatase decreased CaM kinase II autonomous activity in fundus lysates and restored its responsiveness to Ca2+/calmodulin. Acetylcholine (ACh) increased autonomous CaM kinase II activity in fundus and proximal colon smooth muscles in a time- and dose-dependent manner. KN-93 enhanced ACh-induced fundus contractions but inhibited proximal colon contractions. The different properties of CaM kinase II from fundus and proximal colon smooth muscles suggest differential regulation of its autophosphorylation and activity in tonic and phasic gastrointestinal smooth muscles.     

alphaKAP is an anchoring protein for a novel CaM kinase II isoform in skeletal muscle.

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) is present in a membrane-bound form that phosphorylates synapsin I on neuronal synaptic vesicles and the ryanodine receptor at skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), but it is unclear how this soluble enzyme is targeted to membranes. We demonstrate that alphaKAP, a non-kinase protein encoded by a gene within the gene of alpha-CaM kinase II, can target the CaM kinase II holoenzyme to the SR membrane. Our results indicate that alphaKAP (i) is anchored to the membrane via its N-terminal hydrophobic domain, (ii) can co-assemble with catalytically competent CaM kinase II isoforms and target them to the membrane regardless of their state of activation, and (iii) is co-localized and associated with rat skeletal muscle CaM kinase II in vivo. alphaKAP is therefore the first demonstrated anchoring protein for CaM kinase II. CaM kinase II assembled with alphaKAP retains normal enzymatic activity and the ability to become Ca2+-independent following autophosphorylation. A new variant of beta-CaM kinase II, termed betaM-CaM kinase II, is one of the predominant CaM kinase II isoforms associated with alphaKAP in skeletal muscle SR.     

Regional and Temporal Alterations in Ca2+/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II and Calcineurin in the Hippocampus of Rat Brain After Transient Forebrain Ischemia

We have investigated regional and temporal alterations in Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) and calcineurin (Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase) after transient forebrain ischemia. Immunoreactivity and enzyme activity of CaM kinase II decreased in regions CA1 and CA3, and in the dentate gyrus, of the hippocampus early (6-12 h) after ischemia, but the decrease in immunoreactivity gradually recovered over time, except in the CA1 region. Furthermore, the increase in Ca2+/calmodulin-independent activity was detected up to 3 days after ischemia in all regions tested, suggesting that the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ increased. In contrast to CaM kinase II, as immunohistochemistry and regional immunoblot analysis revealed, calcineurin was preserved in the CA1 region until 1.5 days and then lost with the increase in morphological degeneration of neurons. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the findings of the immunohistochemistry. These results suggest that there is a difference between CaM kinase II and calcineurin in regional and temporal loss after ischemia and that imbalance of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation may occur.     

Regulatory mechanism of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase

Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaM-KK) is a novel member of the CaM kinase family, which specifically phosphorylates and activates CaM kinase I and IV. In this study, we characterized the CaM-binding peptide of alphaCaM-KK (residues 438-463), which suppressed the activity of constitutively active CaM-KK (84-434) in the absence of Ca(2+)/CaM but competitively with ATP. Truncation and site-directed mutagenesis of the CaM-binding region in CaM-KK reveal that Ile(441) is essential for autoinhibition of CaM-KK. Furthermore, CaM-KK chimera mutants containing the CaM-binding sequence of either myosin light chain kinases or CaM kinase II located C-terminal of Leu(440), exhibited enhanced Ca(2+)/CaM-independent activity (60% of total activity). Although the CaM-binding domains of myosin light chain kinases and CaM kinase II bind to the N- and C-terminal domains of CaM in the opposite orientation to CaM-KK (Osawa, M., Tokumitsu, H., Swindells, M. B., Kurihara, H., Orita, M., Shibanuma, T., Furuya, T., and Ikura, M. (1999) Nat. Struct. Biol. 6, 819-824), the chimeric CaM-KKs containing Ile(441) remained Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent. This result demonstrates that the orientation of the CaM binding is not critical for relief of CaM-KK autoinhibition. However, the requirement of Ile(441) for autoinhibition, which is located at the -3 position from the N-terminal anchoring residue (Trp(444)) to CaM, accounts for the opposite orientation of CaM binding of CaM-KK compared with other CaM kinases.     

Autophosphorylation of the type II calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is essential for formation of a proteolytic fragment with catalytic activity. Implications for long-term synaptic potentiation

Autophosphorylation plays an essential role in proteolytic activation of the type II calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase II). Limited proteolysis of CaM kinase II by trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, and Ca2+-stimulated neutral protease (calpain) yielded a catalytically active kinase fragment only when the holoenzyme was autophosphorylated prior to proteolysis. Slightly larger, inactive fragments were obtained from nonphosphorylated CaM kinase II, regardless of whether Ca2+/calmodulin or Mg2+/ATP were present or absent. The active fragment exhibited Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity with kinetic parameters identical with those of the activated holoenzyme. The key autophosphorylation site of CaM kinase II was absent from the active fragment which indicates that proteolysis can effectively uncouple the activation state and Ca2+/calmodulin independence of the kinase from the action of phosphoprotein phosphatases. Because autophosphorylation exerts such a tight control over this irreversible process, proteolytic activation of CaM kinase II by intracellular proteases offers an attractive mechanism for prolonging the effects of Ca2+ at the synapse.     

Phosphorylation of nitric oxide synthase by protein kinase A.

Nitric oxide synthase was purified to apparent homogeneity from the cytosolic fractions obtained from rat and porcine cerebellum. Enzyme activity--measured as [3H]citrulline formation after incubation with [3H]arginine--was dependent on Ca2+/calmodulin, NADPH, and tetrahydro-L-biopterin. Specific activity varied between 450 to 780 nmol/min/mg protein. Purified nitric oxide synthases showed a single band on 8% SDS/PAGE gels and had an apparent molecular mass of 150,000 Da. The purified proteins were used as substrate for phosphorylation with different protein kinases. In the assays using two Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases, CaM kinase II and CaM kinase-Gr, protein kinase C, and the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A, nitric oxide synthase was exclusively phosphorylated by protein kinase A. Such phosphorylation was linear over time for at least 60 min and resulted in nearly stoichiometric phosphate/protein incorporation. The serine in the protein kinase A-consensus sequence KRFGS is probably the site of phosphorylation in nitric oxide synthase. Kemptide, a known protein kinase A substrate, inhibited phosphorylation of nitric oxide synthase in a dose-dependent manner. No changes in nitric oxide synthase activity were observed upon phosphorylation by protein kinase A.     

Purification and characterization of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I from bovine brain

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (Ca2+/CaM kinase I), which phosphorylates site I of synapsin I, has been highly purified from bovine brain. The physical properties and substrate specificity of Ca2+/CaM kinase I were distinct from those of all other known Ca2+/CaM kinases. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the purified enzyme preparation consisted of two major polypeptides of Mr 37,000 and 39,000 and a minor polypeptide of Mr 42,000. In the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin (CaM), all three polypeptides bound CaM, were autophosphorylated on threonine residues, and were labeled by the photoaffinity label 8-azido-ATP. Peptide maps of the three autophosphorylated polypeptides were very similar. The Stokes radius and the sedimentation coefficient of the enzyme were, respectively, 31.8 A and 3.25 s. A molecular weight of 42,400 and a frictional ratio of 1.38 were calculated from the above values, suggesting that Ca2+/CaM kinase I is a monomer. It is possible that the polypeptides of lower molecular weight are derived from the polypeptide of Mr 42,000 by proteolysis; alternatively, the polypeptides may represent isozymes of Ca2+/CaM kinase I. Synapsin I (site I) was the best substrate tested (Km, 2-4 microM) for Ca2+/CaM kinase I. Of many additional proteins tested, only protein III (a phosphoprotein related to synapsin I) and smooth muscle myosin light chain were phosphorylated. Ca2+/CaM kinase I was found in highest concentration in brain, where it showed widespread regional and subcellular distributions. In addition, the enzyme had a widespread and predominantly cytosolic tissue distribution. The widespread neuronal and tissue distribution of Ca2+/CaM kinase I suggests that other substrates might exist for this enzyme in both neuronal and non-neuronal tissues.     

Identification of membrane-bound calcium, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in canine heart

Phospholamban, the putative regulatory proteolipid of the Ca2+/Mg2+ ATPase in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, was selectively phosphorylated by a Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase associated with a cardiac membrane preparation. This kinase also catalyzed the phosphorylation of two exogenous proteins known to be phosphorylated by the multifunctional Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (Ca2+/CaM-kinase II), i.e., smooth muscle myosin light chains and glycogen synthase a. The latter protein was phosphorylated at sites previously shown to be phosphorylated by the purified multifunctional Ca2+/CaM-kinase II from liver and brain. The membrane-bound kinase did not phosphorylate phosphorylase b or cardiac myosin light chains, although these proteins were phosphorylated by appropriate, specific calmodulin-dependent protein kinases added exogenously. In addition to phospholamban, several other membrane-associated proteins were phosphorylated in a calmodulin-dependent manner. The principal one exhibited a Mr of approximately 56,000, a value similar to that of the major protein (57,000) in a partially purified preparation of Ca2+/CaM-kinase II from the soluble fraction of canine heart that was autophosphorylated in a calmodulin-dependent manner. These data indicate that the membrane-bound, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase that phosphorylates phospholamban in cardiac membranes is not a specific calmodulin-dependent kinase, but resembles the multifunctional Ca2+/CaM-kinase II. Our data indicate that this kinase may be present in both the particulate and soluble fractions of canine heart.     

Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinases Ia and Ib from rat brain I. Identification, purification, and structural comparisons.

Two Ca(2+)-calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinases were purified from rat brain using as substrate a synthetic peptide based on site 1 (site 1 peptide) of the synaptic vesicle-associated protein, synapsin I. One of the purified enzymes was an approximately 89% pure protein of M(r) = 43,000 which bound CaM in a Ca(2+)-dependent fashion. The other purified enzyme was an apparently homogenous protein of M(r) = 39,000 accompanied by a small amount of a M(r) = 37,000 form which may represent a proteolytic product of the 39-kDa enzyme. The 39-kDa protein bound CaM in a Ca(2+)-dependent fashion. Gel filtration analysis indicated that both enzymes are monomers. The 43- and 39-kDa enzymes are named Ca(2+)-CaM-dependent protein kinases Ia and Ib (CaM kinases Ia, Ib), respectively. The specific activities of CaM kinases Ia and Ib were similar (5-8 mumol/min/mg protein). CaM kinase Ia (but not CaM kinase Ib) activity was enhanced by addition of a CaM-Sepharose column wash (non-binding) fraction suggesting the existence of an "activator" of CaM kinase Ia. Both kinases phosphorylated exogenous substrates (site 1 peptide and synapsin I) in a Ca(2+)-CaM-dependent fashion and both kinases underwent autophosphorylation. CaM kinase Ia autophosphorylation was Ca(2+)-CaM-dependent and occurred exclusively on threonine while CaM kinase Ib autophosphorylation showed Ca(2+)-CaM independence and occurred on both serine and threonine. Proteolytic digestion of autophosphorylated CaM kinases Ia and Ib yielded phosphopeptides of differing M(r). These characteristics, as well as enzymatic and regulatory properties (DeRemer, M. F., Saeli, R. J. Brautigen, D. L., and Edelman, A. M. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 13466-13471), indicate that CaM kinases Ia and Ib are distinct and possibly previously unrecognized enzymes.