Differential activation of CREB by Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases type II and type IV involves phosphorylation of a site that negatively regulates activity

The cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) has been shown to mediate transcriptional activation of genes in response to both cAMF and calcium influx signal transduction pathways. The roles of two multifunctional calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases, CaMKIV and CaMKII, were examined in transient transfection studies that utilized either the full-length or the constitutively active forms of these kinases. The results indicate that CaMKIV is much more potent than CaMKII in activating CREB in three different cell lines. It was also found in these studies that Ser¹³³ of CREB is essential for its activation by CaMKIV. Because both CaMKII and CaMKIV can phosphorylate CREB, we pursued further the mechanism by which CaMKII and CaMKIV differentially regulate CREB activity. Mutagenesis studies and phosphopeptide mapping analysis demonstrated that in vitro, CaMKIV phosphorylates CREB at Ser¹³³ only, whereas CaMKII phosphorylates CREB at Ser¹³³ and a second site, Ser¹⁴². Transient transfection studies revealed that phosphorylation of Ser¹⁴² by CaMKII blocks the activation of CREB that would otherwise occur when Ser¹³³ is phosphorylated. When Ser¹⁴² was mutated to alanine, CREB was activated by CaMKII, as well as by CaMKIV. Furthermore, mutation of Ser¹⁴² to alanine enhanced the ability of Ca²⁺ influx to activate CREB, suggesting a physiological role for the phosphorylation of Ser¹⁴² in modulation of CREB activity. These data provide evidence for a new mechanism for regulation of CREB activity involving phosphorylation of a negative regulatory site in the transcriptional activation domain. The studies also provide new insights into possible interactions between the cAMP and Ca²⁺ signaling pathways in the regulation of transcription. In particular, changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ have the potential to either inhibit or augment the ability of cAMP to stimulate transcription, depending on the presence of specific forms of Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases.