Strain-specific postnatal changes in the activity and tissue levels of protein kinase C

The specific activity of protein kinase C from adult mouse lung and spleen was higher than in the corresponding tissues from neonatal mice. BALB/cBy mice had higher lung and spleen protein kinase C activities at both ages than did A/J mice, and the extent of this strain difference increased with age. These activity differences reflected the tissue levels of the 80 kD form of protein kinase C, as determined by quantitative immunoblotting. These genetic and ontogenetic differences provide an interesting model with which to study the regulation of protein kinase C gene expression.