Rat liver nuclei protein kinase C is the isozyme type II

Rat liver nuclei protein kinase C is identified as type II isozyme employing monospecific antibodies obtained against each three types of rat brain protein kinase C isozymes. (Yoshida, Y., Huang, F. L., Nakabayashi, H., and Huang, K-P. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 9868-9873). A major immunoreactive protein band at 80 kDa was revealed by type II isozyme antibodies at each step of purification, nuclear extract included. The nuclear protein kinase C has been purified to apparent homogeneity as revealed by silver nitrate staining on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showing a single 80 kDa protein band. It does seem that 66 kDa protein (Masmoudi, A., Labourdette, G., Mersel, M., Huang, F. L., Huang, K.-P., Vincendon, G., and Malviya, A. N. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 1172-1179) is a major contaminant devoid of any protein kinase activity. The ratio obtained between protein kinase C enzymatic activity over phorbol dibutyrate bound, at various purification steps, indicates that the nuclear enzyme is a phorbol ester receptor. When isolated nuclei were incubated with 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate, endogenous protein kinase C activity was elevated about 8-10-fold suggesting the existence of phorbol ester signaling pathway at the level of nucleus. The role of nuclear protein kinase C is delineated in the regulation of inducible gene transcription