Protein kinase C (PKC) is a novel Ca2؉ -independent PKC isoform, which is selectively expressed in skeletal muscle and hematopoietic cells, especially T cells. In T cells, it colocalizes with the T cell antigen receptor (TCR)⅐CD3 complex in antigen-stimulated T cells and is involved in the transcriptional activation of the interleukin-2 gene. In the present study, we report that PKC is tyrosine phosphorylated in Jurkat T cells upon TCR⅐CD3 activation. The Src family protein-tyrosine kinase, Lck, was critical in TCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PKC. Lck phosphorylated and was associated with the regulatory domain of PKC both in vitro and in intact cells. This association was constitutive, but it was enhanced by T cell activation, with both Srchomology 2 and Src-homology 3 domains of Lck contributing to it. Tyrosine 90 (Tyr-90) in the regulatory domain of PKC was identified as the major phosphorylation site by Lck. A constitutively active mutant of PKC (A148E) could enhance proliferation of Jurkat T cells and synergized with ionomycin to induce nuclear factor of T cells activity. However, mutation of Tyr-90 into phenylalanine markedly reduced (or abolished) these activities. These results suggest that Lck plays an important role in tyrosine phosphorylation of PKC, which may in turn modulate the physiological functions of PKC during TCR-induced T cell activation.
Protein kinase C (PKC)1 is a family of serine/threonine kinases that play critical roles in the regulation of differentiation and proliferation in many cell types and in the response to diverse stimuli (reviewed in Refs. 1 and 2). Products of the 10 known mammalian PKC genes are classified into four subfamilies of Ca 2ϩ -dependent (or conventional, PKC␣, -, and -␥), Ca 2ϩ -independent (or novel, PKC␦, -⑀, -, and -), atypical (PKC and /), and PKC/D enzymes. Activity of PKC enzymes is regulated by phosphorylation and binding of defined cofactors. Enzyme activation is associated with its redistribution among different cellular compartments, commonly from the cytosolic to the particulate (membrane) fraction. Studies indicate that PKC is also important during T cell activation. This is indicated by the ability of physiological T cell receptor (TCR) ligands to activate PKC and induce its translocation from the cytosol to the particulate fraction; by the ability of PKC inhibitors, or PKC depletion by prolonged phorbol ester treatment, to block lymphocyte signaling and activation; by the requirement for persistent PKC activation during mitogenic T cell activation; and, finally, by the diminished TCR⅐CD3-mediated proliferation in PKC-deficient T cells (reviewed in Ref. 3).PKC is a novel Ca 2ϩ