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About CAMK2A
CAMK2A (calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha) belongs to the CAMK2 family, a group of multifunctional serine/threonine kinases that serve as central decoders of intracellular calcium signals. Upon binding of the Ca2+/calmodulin complex, CAMK2A undergoes autophosphorylation at Thr286, converting the enzyme to a calcium-independent, constitutively active state — a molecular memory mechanism critical for synaptic plasticity. Key substrates include AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 (Ser831), synapsin I, and multiple transcription factors including CREB. CAMK2A is a master regulator of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), positioning it as a pivotal node in learning and memory circuits. Dysregulation of CAMK2A activity has been implicated in neurological disorders including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and ischemic brain injury. In cardiac tissue, aberrant CAMK2A signaling drives arrhythmias and heart failure. Its broad disease relevance and druggable kinase domain make CAMK2A an attractive therapeutic target for both CNS and cardiovascular indications.
Why PhosphoSens for CAMK2A?
CAMK2A presents distinct assay challenges: its requirement for Ca2+/calmodulin activation demands precisely buffered assay conditions, and its autophosphorylation-driven autonomous activation complicates interpretation of endpoint data. Traditional ADP-Glo and HTRF assays capture only single time-point snapshots, masking the biphasic kinetics of CAMK2A activation and autophosphorylation. Radiometric assays carry handling burdens and fail to resolve mechanistic complexity. PhosphoSens continuous fluorescent kinase assays monitor substrate phosphorylation in real time, generating full progress curves that distinguish Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent versus autonomous CAMK2A activity. Physiological ATP concentrations are used, ensuring inhibitor IC50 values reflect true cellular relevance. Covalent and allosteric inhibitors are accurately characterized via kinact/KI determination — impossible with endpoint formats. This mechanistic richness accelerates hit triage and enables confident rank-ordering of CAMK2A inhibitor series.
Key Pathways:
Ca2+/calmodulin signaling
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
CREB transcriptional regulation
Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling
Talk to a Scientist
Have questions about CAMK2A assay design, selectivity panels, or covalent inhibitor characterization?
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How pricing works:
Select a kit or substrate below, then request a quote. Bundle discounts apply automatically.
Select a kit or substrate below, then request a quote. Bundle discounts apply automatically.
Real-Time CAMK2A Activity Assays
Continuous, real-time fluorescent assays optimized for quantitative CAMK2A activity measurements, IC50 determination, and mechanistic studies.
Assay Format: Continuous kinetic fluorescence (real-time)
PhosphoSens-Kinetic assays directly quantify enzyme activity by continuously monitoring substrate phosphorylation or dephosphorylation in real time, generating a full progress curve in every well.
Learn more about PhosphoSens-Kinetic →Need pricing or availability? Select a kit or substrate to request a quote below.
Kits
PhosphoSens-Kinetic Kinase Activity Kit - AQT0425
Ready-to-use assay kits containing substrate and all essential reagents.
Kit Contents
- Optimized PhosphoSens® substrate (AQT0425)
- ATP, DTT, EGTA, Reaction Buffer & Dilution Buffer
Automatically save 10% when bundling 10ug recombinant enzyme with your 1,000 assay kit. View enzymes
Price: $425
Substrate
PhosphoSens Kinase Substrate AQT0425
Bulk PhosphoSens® substrate for assay development and high-throughput workflows.
Specifications
Automatically save 10% when bundling Reagent Packs with your substrate. View Reagent Packs
Price: $2795
Ready to request pricing for CAMK2A?
Select a kit, substrate, or enzyme above. Our team will confirm pricing, availability, and any applicable bundle discounts.
Request a QuoteTRF CAMK2A Screening Assays
Robust endpoint TRF assays optimized for high-throughput screening and quantitative CAMK2A activity measurement in plate-based workflows.
Assay Format: Time-resolved fluorescence (TRF, endpoint)
PhosphoSens-Red assays use europium-based time-resolved fluorescence detection to enable robust, plate-based quantification of enzyme activity, making them well suited for high-throughput screening workflows.
Learn more about PhosphoSens-Red →Need pricing or availability? Select a kit or substrate to request a quote below.
Kits
PhosphoSens-Red Kinase Activity Kit - AQT0425
Ready-to-use TRF assay kits containing substrate and essential reagents.
Kit Contents
- Optimized PhosphoSens® substrate (AQT0425)
- ATP, DTT, EGTA, Reaction Buffer & Dilution Buffer
- Europium Detection Solution
Automatically save 10% when bundling 10ug recombinant enzyme with your 1,000 assay kit. View enzymes
Price: $455
Substrate
PhosphoSens Kinase Substrate AQT0425
Bulk substrate for PhosphoSens-Red TRF assays and high-throughput workflows.
Specifications
Automatically save 10% when bundling Reagent Packs with your substrate. View Reagent Packs
Price: $2795
Ready to request pricing for CAMK2A?
Select a kit, substrate, or enzyme above. Our team will confirm pricing, availability, and any applicable bundle discounts.
Request a QuoteNo recombinant enzymes are currently available for CAMK2A.
Frequently Asked Questions: CAMK2A Assays
How does PhosphoSens handle the Ca2+/calmodulin requirement for CAMK2A activation in vitro?
PhosphoSens CAMK2A assays are formulated with optimized Ca2+/calmodulin concentrations that reproducibly activate the kinase to defined levels, enabling consistent and comparable inhibitor profiling across experiments. Buffer conditions are validated to maintain stable Ca2+ chelation throughout the continuous read, eliminating variability introduced by calcium fluctuation during long endpoint incubations. This allows researchers to study both Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent and autonomous (Thr286-autophosphorylated) CAMK2A activity in a single real-time experiment.
Can PhosphoSens assays distinguish CAMK2A autophosphorylation kinetics from substrate phosphorylation?
Yes u2014 because PhosphoSens generates continuous fluorescent progress curves, the temporal separation between CAMK2A autophosphorylation-driven activation and downstream substrate phosphorylation can be resolved mechanistically. Endpoint assays like ADP-Glo collapse this information into a single time-point, obscuring the biphasic kinetics that are diagnostic of CAMK2A autonomous activation. Real-time progress curves enable researchers to design experiments that specifically interrogate either the activation phase or the steady-state substrate turnover phase.
What ATP concentration is used in CAMK2A PhosphoSens assays and why does it matter for inhibitor profiling?
PhosphoSens CAMK2A assays utilize physiological ATP concentrations (typically 1 mM), which is critical because most competitive inhibitors show dramatically shifted IC50 values at the artificially low ATP concentrations used in many commercial kinase assays. Profiling inhibitors at physiological ATP ensures that potency rankings and selectivity data translate accurately to cellular and in vivo settings, reducing costly late-stage attrition. This is especially important for CAMK2A, where ATP-competitive and allosteric inhibitor scaffolds are both actively pursued.
Data & Resources
Explore data and documents to support your kinase and phosphatase experiments. Download sample data, protocols and other resources to see how our assays perform and to help you get started in your own lab. All validation data generated using PhosphoSens® assays under recommended conditions.
Sample Report: AQT0734 - EGFR Assay Validation Report
Each validation report provides experimental conditions and data showing:
- Enzyme titration and linearity
- Sensor peptide substrate titration and Km determination
- ATP titration and Km determination
- DMSO titration and assay tolerance
- Inhibitor titration and IC50 determination
Protocol
Inhibitor IC50 Protocol
See how the PhosphoSens-Kinetic Assay can be used to find the IC50 of a kinase inhibitor.
Download Protocol →Webinar
Webinar: Continuous Assay Validation
Discover how continuous assay formats power deep understanding of kinase function. See how PhosphoSens® assays guide inhibitor profiling, selectivity assessment, and mechanistic characterization.
Watch the Webinar →Service
KinSight™ CAMK2A Profiling
Need broader selectivity data? KinSight profiling runs your compounds across our full kinase panel under identical PhosphoSens conditions.
Learn about KinSight →Stay Informed
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