Peptides derived from protein kinase C (PKC) modulate its activity by interfering with critical protein-protein interactions within PKC and between PKC and PKC-binding proteins (Souroujon, M. C., and Mochly-Rosen, D. (1998) Nat. Biotechnol. 16, 919 -924). We previously demonstrated that the C2 domain of PKC plays a critical role in these interactions. By focusing on ⑀PKC and using a rational approach, we then identified one C2-derived peptide that acts as an isozyme-selective activator and another that acts as a selective inhibitor of ⑀PKC. These peptides were used to identify the role of ⑀PKC in protection from cardiac and brain ischemic damage, in prevention of complications from diabetes, in reducing pain, and in protecting transplanted hearts. The efficacy of these two peptides led us to search for additional C2-derived peptides with PKC-modulating activities. Here we report on the activity of a series of 5-9-residue peptides that are derived from regions that span the length of the C2 domain of ⑀PKC. These peptides were tested for their effect on PKC activity in cells in vivo and in an ex vivo model of acute ischemic heart disease. Most of the peptides acted as activators of PKC, and a few peptides acted as inhibitors. PKC-dependent myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate phosphorylation in ⑀PKC knock-out cells revealed that only a subset of the peptides were selective for ⑀PKC over other PKC isozymes. These ⑀PKC-selective peptides were also protective of the myocardium from ischemic injury, an ⑀PKC-dependent function (Liu, G. S., Cohen, M. V., Mochly-Rosen, D., and Downey, J. M. (1999) J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 31, 1937-1948), and caused selective translocation of ⑀PKC over other isozymes when injected systemically into mice. Examination of the structure of the C2 domain from ⑀PKC revealed that peptides with similar activities clustered into discrete regions within the domain. We propose that these regions represent surfaces of protein-protein interactions within ⑀PKC and/or between ⑀PKC and other partner proteins; some of these interactions are unique to ⑀PKC, and others are common to other PKC isozymes.The protein kinase C (PKC) 3 family of serine/threonine protein kinases is involved in normal cell functions such as apoptosis (3, 4), cell proliferation (5-7), and secretion (8), as well as in disease states such as ischemic heart disease (9 -12) and stroke (13,14). PKC activation is associated with binding to the negatively charged phospholipids, phosphatidylserine, and different PKC isozymes have varying sensitivities to Ca 2ϩ and lipid-derived second messengers such as diacylglycerol (15). Upon activation, PKC isozymes translocate from the soluble to the particulate cell fraction (16), including cell membrane, nucleus (17), and mitochondria (18).PKC primary sequence can be broadly separated into two domains as follows: the N-terminal regulatory domain and the conserved C-terminal catalytic domain. The regulatory domain of PKC is composed of the C1 and C2 domains that mediate PKC interactions with se...