The differentiated phenotype of chondrocyte is rapidly lost during in vitro culture by a process designated "dedifferentiation." In this study, we investigate the roles of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signalregulated protein kinase (ERK) in the maintenance of the differentiated chondrocyte phenotype. Chondrocytes isolated from rabbit articular cartilage underwent dedifferentiation upon serial monolayer culture with cessation of type II collagen expression and proteoglycan synthesis, which was reversed by culturing dedifferentiated cells in alginate gel. The expression pattern of PKC␣ was essentially the same as that of type II collagen during de-and redifferentiation, in that expression was decreased during dedifferentiation and increased during redifferentiation. In contrast to PKC␣, ERK activity increased 15-fold during dedifferentiation. This enhanced activity was terminated during redifferentiation. Down-regulation of PKC␣ in passage 0 chondrocytes resulted in dedifferentiation. However, overexpression of PKC␣ did not affect type II collagen levels, suggesting that PKC␣ expression is not sufficient to maintain the differentiated phenotype. However, inhibition of ERK by PD98059 enhanced type II collagen expression and proteoglycan synthesis in passage 0 cells, retarded dedifferentiation during monolayer cultures, and reversed dedifferentiation caused by downregulation of PKC. Unlike PKC-dependent ERK regulation of chondrogenesis, PKC and ERK independently modulated chondrocyte dedifferentiation, as confirmed by observations that PKC down-regulation and ERK inhibition did not alter ERK phosphorylation and PKC expression, respectively. In addition, expression of Ncadherin, ␣-catenin, and -catenin, which are oppositely regulated to type II collagen during phenotype alterations, were modulated by PKC and ERK during chondrogenesis but not dedifferentiation, supporting distinct mechanisms for the regulation of chondrocyte differentiation and maintenance of differentiated phenotype by these two protein kinases.