Effects of ischemia on multifunctional calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II in the gerbil.

Cerebral ischemia produces a disruption of calcium homeostasis in neurons. This may explain the extreme sensitivity of these cells to ischemic insult. Prolonged increases in calcium levels may produce irreversible damage to the cell by altering important calcium-dependent enzyme systems such as calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Five minutes of acute forebrain ischemia in the gerbil produced a significant decrease in calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity as early as 10 seconds postischemia and persisting up to 7 days after insult. Because hypothermia protects against ischemia-induced cell death in the gerbil, we examined the effect of ischemia on cell death and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II at different intracerebral temperatures: hyperthermia (39 degrees C), normothermia (36 degrees C), and hypothermia (32 degrees C). In ischemic animals, hyperthermia produced severe loss of neurons in CA1 and moderate loss in CA3-CA4 subregions. Normothermia in ischemic animals produced severe loss of neurons in the CA1 subregion. Hypothermic ischemic animals showed no significant loss of neurons in any hippocampal region. Ischemia produced a severe decrease (17 +/- 6% of control) in calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II activity in hyperthermic animals, a moderate decrease (55 +/- 15% of control) in normothermic animals, and no decrease of enzyme activity in hypothermic animals. Thus, lowering and raising intracerebral temperature decreased and increased, respectively, the extent of ischemia-induced damage in the gerbil. Because ischemia-induced effects on calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity are rapid and long-lasting, hypothermia may protect through preservation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity.