The regulatory role of calmodulin in the proteolysis of individual neurofilament proteins by calpain.

The in vitro degradation of individual neurofilament proteins by calpain and the effects of calmodulin on this proteolysis were studied. Two major results are reported. First, in the presence of calcium, calmodulin binds to the 200-kD neurofilament protein, but only weakly associates with the 150-kD neurofilament protein. The 70-kD neurofilament protein shows no specific calmodulin-binding. Second, calmodulin inhibits the calpain-mediated degradation of the 200-kD neurofilament protein, but does not alter the hydrolysis of the 150-kD and 70-kD neurofilament proteins. In addition, calmodulin is able to bind to the 200-kD neurofilament protein in the presence of other neurofilament subunits, indicating that calmodulin may play a role in the regulation of the metabolism of the 200-kD neurofilament protein in vivo.