Protein kinase C, zeta Adenovirus (Ad-PKC-Zeta)

Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) family play a key regulatory role in a variety of cellular functions including cell growth, differentiation, gene expression, and hormone action. PKCs are protein serine/threonine kinases whose activities are dependent on calcium and phospholipids. PKCs can be subdivided into two major classes, including conventional (c) PKC isoforms and novel (n) isoforms. A more recently described member of this family has been designated either PKC √ǬÂμ for the human protein or PKD for isolates of mouse origin. Protein kinase C (PKC) zeta is a member of the PKC family of serine/threonine kinases which are involved in a variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and secretion. 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