The effects of two putative inhibitors of protein kinase C activity, staurosporine and H-7, on partially purified protein kinase C and amylase secretion from isolated rabbit pancreatic acini were investigated. Staurosporine dose-dependently inhibited amylase release stimulated by an optimal concentration of cholecystokinin C-terminal octapeptide. At a concentration of 100 nM, the drug inhibited the secretory response to the secretagogue by approximately 50%. At the same concentration, staurosporine inhibited 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetatestimulated enzyme secretion by 90%. Moreover, the potentiating effect of this phorbol ester on cholecystokinininduced amylase release was completely abolished in the presence of staurosporine. Interestingly, amylase release was decreased to the level observed with the combination of cholecystokinin and staurosporine. In contrast, H-7, potentiated rather than inhibited cholecystokinin-stimulated enzyme secretion, whereas the secretory response to 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate was not affected by the drug. Both staurosporine and H-7, however, inhibited protein kinase C purified from exocrine pancreatic tissue. Kinetic analysis revealed that both compounds inhibited protein kinase C competitively with respect to ATP. The Ki value for staurosporine was 0.55 nM and for H-7 13.5 pM. Our results obtained with staurosporine are in line with a stimulatory role of protein kinase C in cholecystokinin-induced enzyme secretion from the exocrine pancreas. The results obtained with H-7 emphasize that care has to be taken in interpreting the biological effects of this drug.Protein kinase Cis an ubiquitous Ca2+-and phospholipiddependent protein kinase which is thought to play a role in a wide variety of cellular processes involved in hormone-induced cell activation [l]. In pancreatic acini, as in most tissues, the activation of the enzyme appears to be linked to the secretagogue-induced turnover of inositol phospholipids in the plasma membrane [2 -51. Interaction of a hormone, like cholecystokinin, or a neurotransmitter, such as acetylcholine, with its membrane receptor stimulates a phospholipase C activity that cleaves phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate leading to the generation of two important second messengers, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [6, 71 and diacylglycerol [8, 91. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate stimulates the release of Ca2 + from intracellular stores [lo]. Diacylglycerol increases the Ca2+-affinity of protein kinase C [l, 111, leading, in conjunction with the increase in intracellular Ca", to activation of protein kinase C.Evidence for the involvement of the diacylglycerol-activated protein kinase C in the mechanism of action of calciummobilizing pancreatic secretagogues has come primarily from studies with phorbol esters. These compounds, such as 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), mimic the stimulatory effect of diacylglycerol on protein kinase C [ll] and stimulate pancreatic enzyme secretion [12 -141. However, phorbol esters can also be inhibitory active. F...