Developmental expression of the CaM kinase II isoforms:: ubiquitous γ- and δ-CaM kinase II are the early isoforms and most abundant in the developing nervous system

CaM kinase II constitutes a family of multifunctional protein kinases that play a major role in Ca2+-mediated signal transduction. As a first step in understanding their possible function in mouse development we characterized the expression patterns of all CaM kinase II isoforms (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) starting in prenatal development. Remarkably, only the ubiquitous gamma- and delta-CaM kinase II are expressed during early development. Their distribution suggests a special role in the developing nervous system and in mature excitable tissues. Additionally, we describe the murine beta(M)-CaM kinase II, a variant of the 'brain-specific' beta-CaM kinase II, which is highly expressed in skeletal muscle. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.