CaMK-II oligomerization potential determined using CFP/YFP FRET

Members of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK-II) family are encoded throughout the animal kingdom by up to four genes (α, β, γ, and δ). Over three dozen known CaMK-II splice variants assemble into ∼12-subunit oligomers with catalytic domains facing out from a central core. In this study, the catalytic domain of α, β, and δ CaMK-IIs was replaced with cyan (CFP) or yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) for fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) studies. FRET, when normalized to total CFP and YFP, reproducibly yielded values which reflected oligomerization preference, inter-subunit spacing, and localization. FRET occurred when individual CFP and YFP-linked CaMK-IIs were co-expressed, but not when they were expressed separately and then mixed. All hetero-oligomers exhibited FRET values that were averages of their homo-oligomeric parents, indicating no oligomeric preference or restriction. FRET for CaMK-II homo-oligomers was inversely proportional to the variable region length. FPs were monomerized (Leu221 to Lys221) for this study, thus eliminating any potential artifact caused by FP-CaMK-II aggregates. Our results indicate that α, β, and δ CaMK-IIs can freely hetero-oligomerize and that increased variable region lengths place amino termini further apart, potentially influencing the rate of inter-subunit autophosphorylation.