Regulation of protein kinase CK2 isoform expression during rat brain development.

Protein kinase CK2 is very abundant in rat brain when compared with other rat tissues. The enzyme is an oligomeric protein with the structures alpha 2 beta 2, alpha alpha'beta 2 and alpha'2 beta 2. The alpha and alpha' subunits are catalytic and have a high degree of homology, whereas the beta subunit seems regulatory. Using specific antibodies to synthetic peptide antigens that discriminate among the alpha, alpha', and beta subunits of CK2, we have observed a significant increase in the amount of alpha' subunit during the late postnatal neocortical maturation period. The increased alpha' expression occurs at a parallel time to synaptogenesis. As for its distribution, the alpha' subunit of CK2 is much more abundant in neurons (particularly in large size neurons) than it is in glia. These results are consistent with a hypothetical role for CK2 isoforms containing alpha' subunits in the regulation of specific functions in fully differentiated neurons.