Post-translational modifications of proteins are a major determinant of biological function. Phosphorylation of proteins involved in signal transduction contributes to the induction and maintenance of several examples of cellular and synaptic plasticity. In this study we have identified phosphoproteins regulated by Pavlovian conditioning in lysates of Hermissenda nervous systems using 2DE in conjunction with 32 P labeling, fluorescence based phosphoprotein in-gel staining, and mass spectrometry. Modification of protein phosphorylation regulated by conditioning was first assessed by densitometric analysis of 32 P labeled proteins resolved by 2DE from lysates of conditioned and pseudorandom control nervous systems. An independent assessment of phosphorylation regulated by conditioning was obtained from an examination of 2D gels stained with Pro-Q Diamond phosphoprotein dye. Mass spectrometric analysis of protein digests from phosphoprotein stained analytical gels or Coomassie blue stained preparative gels provided for the identification of phosphoproteins that exhibited statistically significant increased phosphorylation in conditioned groups as compared to pseudorandom controls. A previously identified cytoskeletal related protein, Csp24, involved in intermediate-term memory exhibited significantly increased phosphorylation detected 24 hrs post-conditioning. Our results show that proteins involved in diverse cellular functions such as transcriptional regulation, cell signaling, cytoskeletal regulation, metabolic activity, and protein degradation contribute to long-term post-translational modifications associated with Pavlovian conditioning.
Keywordsβ-thymosin repeat protein; Hermissenda; cytoskeletal proteins; Pavlovian conditioning; posttranslational modificationPost-translational modifications that change the properties of proteins are of major importance for biological function. For example, a number of biological events such as signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, control of enzyme activity, and cell division are regulated by the phosphorylation of proteins (for reviews see Hunter and Karin, 1992;Johnson and Vaillancourt, 1994;Hunter, 1995;Karin and Hunter, 1995;Johnston and O'Reilly, 1996;Mann and Jensen, 2003). In addition, phosphorylation is now recognized as important in the induction Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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Author ManuscriptNeuroscience. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 February 17. and maintenance of cellular and synaptic plasticity (for example see Neary et al., 1981;Sweatt and Kandel, 1989;Cr...