Description
Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of serine- and threonine-specific protein kinases that can be activated by calcium and the second messenger diacylglycerol. PKC family members phosphorylate a wide variety of protein targets and are known to be involved in diverse cellular signaling pathways. PKC family members also serve as major receptors for phorbol esters, a class of tumor promoters. Each member of the PKC family has a specific expression profile and is believed to play a distinct role in cells. PRKCZ (Protein Kinase C Zeta), a calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent serine/threonine-protein kinase. Unlike the classical PKC isoenzymes which are calcium-dependent, PKC zeta exhibits a kinase activity which is independent of calcium and diacylglycerol but not of phosphatidylserine. Furthermore, it is insensitive to typical PKC inhibitors and cannot be activated by phorbol ester. Unlike the classical PKC isoenzymes, it has only a single zinc finger module. These structural and biochemical properties indicate that the zeta subspecies is related to, but distinct from other isoenzymes of PKC.PRKCZ functions in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade, and is involved in NF-kappa-B activation, mitogenic signaling, cell proliferation, cell polarity, inflammatory response and maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP). Upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in macrophages, or following mitogenic stimuli, functions downstream of PI3K to activate MAP2K1/MEK1-MAPK1/ERK2 signaling cascade independently of RAF1 activation