Identification and Manipulation of the Phosphatases that Produce Aberrant Phosphorylation of CaMKII in Angelman Syndrome

$200,000 (2 years)

Previous work on a major synaptic protein, Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein Kinase II (CaMKII), suggests that it has a central role in producing the developmental deficits in Angelman syndrome (AS).  This research seeks to better understand how CaMKII activity is mediated by a group of regulatory proteins known as phosphatases.  AS treatment strategies involving CaMKII activation via phosphatase-catalyzed dephosphorylation may result from such studies.