PKC Subtypes Research Articles

Localization of protein kinase C-β-like immunoreactivity in the rat dorsal root ganglion

The localization of protein kinase C-β-like immunoreactivity (PKC-β-LI) was studied in the rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) using an antibody specific for a peptide sequence common to the β 1- and β 2-subtypes. PKC-β-LI was seen in 45% of neuronal cell bodies and in nerve fibers, which were mostly myelinated. The PKC-β-LI-containing cell bodies had a diameter significantly larger than the unlabeled cell bodies. The results suggest that PKC-β is a PKC subtype involved in cell surface signal transduction in the subpopulation of large DRG neurons.

A role for membrane-inserted protein kinase C in cellular memory?

1.1. In 1977, the discovery of a new type of kinase was reported, which turned out to be a receptor for phorbol esters. Thereafter, several mechanisms regulating PKC activity and various PKC subtypes have been discovered.2.2. A role for PKC in synaptic plasticity and information storage has been postulated in the mid-1980s. An important role for PKC has since been suggested in several learning and memory models, in which persistent changes in the activation of PKC outlasting the initial stimulating event are thought to be crucial.3.3. A vast number of experiments have further substantiated a role of PKC in learning and memory using molecular genetic, behavioral, pharmacological, electrophysiological or immunocytochemical approaches in the late 1980s and the 1990s. PKC research of the past decade or so of has shown some exciting aspects of the putative role of PKC in synaptic plasticity and information storage.4.4. The authors have provided highlights (Table 1) on research on PKC.