Protein kinase C is now recognized to comprise a family of closely related subspecies (PKCs). When cultured rat pituitary cells were permeabilized by digitonin for 5 min in the absence of Ca2+, endogenous PKC activity was decreased by 72%. PKC depletion was also achieved by prior treatment (24 hr) with high concentrations of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). When purified activated brain PKCs were added for 30 min to PMA-pretreated, digitoninpermeabilized cells, only a-and fi-but not y-type PKC stimulated luteinizing hormone release. Since PKC was implicated as a mediator of gonadotropin secretion, gonadotropinreleasing hormone might utilize a-and fl-type PKCs for stimulation of gonadotropin secretion; a-and fl-type PKCs might participate also in other exocytotic responses in diverse biological systems in which PKC was implicated.Protein kinase C (PKC), which has been regarded as a single enzymatic activity, is now recognized as a family of closely related subspecies (PKCs; were cultured for 4 days in medium 199 containing 5% horse serum, penicillin at 100 units/ml, and streptomycin at 100 ,ug/ml, with or without 1 ,uM PMA for the last 24 or 48 hr of the culture period. Cells were then washed five times with cold phosphatebuffered saline and transferred (107 per tube) by rubber policeman to tubes containing 1 ml of homogenization buffer (20 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.5/0.25 M sucrose/10 mM EGTA/2 mM EDTA/1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride/20 ,ug of leupeptin per ml). The cells were homogenized, and the homogenate was sonicated for 30 s at 4°C and incubated with 0.5% Triton X-100 for 30 min at 4°C to release the membraneassociated PKC. The homogenate was then centrifuged for 10 min at 100,000 x g (Beckman Airfuge, 207 kPa), and the supernatant was applied to a minicolumn of DE-52 cellulose equilibrated with 20 mM Tris HCI (pH 7.5) containing 0.5 mM EGTA, 0.5 mM EDTA, and 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol (buffer A). The column was washed with 4 volumes of buffer A and then with 4 volumes of buffer A containing 20 mM NaCl. PKC was eluted with 4 volumes (=400 ,ul) of buffer A containing 120 mM NaCl. Samples of 20 ,ul (2 ,tg of protein) were subjected to the assay of PKC activity as described by Kikkawa et al. (15). The reaction mixture (0.25 ml) contained 5 ,umol ofTris HCl (pH 7.5), 1.25 ,mol of magnesium acetate, 50 ,g of histone (type III-S), 2.5 nmol of [y-32P]ATP (5-15 x 104 cpm/nmol), 8 ,ug of phosphatidylserine per ml, 0.8 ,ug of diolein per ml, 0.3 mM Ca2+, and the enzyme preparation.Basal activity was measured in the presence of 0.3 mM Ca2+ and was subtracted from the total activity. The assay was carried out for 20 min at 30°C. The reaction was stopped by the addition of 25% trichloroacetic acid; the acid-precipitate was collected on membrane filters (0.45 ,um) tTo whom reprint requests should be addressed.
4501The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this...