Structural Basis of Protein Kinase Cα Regulation by the C-Terminal Tail.

Protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes are multi-modular proteins activated at the membrane surface to regulate signal transduction processes. When activated by second messengers， PKC undergoes a drastic conformational and spatial transition from the inactive cytosolic state to the activated membrane-bound state. The complete structure of either state of PKC remains elusive. We demonstrate， using NMR spectroscopy， that the isolated Ca-sensing membrane-binding C2 domain of the conventional PKCα interacts with a conserved hydrophobic motif of the kinase C-terminal region， and we report a structural model of the complex. Our data suggest that the C-terminal region plays a dual role in regulating the PKC activity: activating， through sensitization of PKC to intracellular Ca oscillations; and auto-inhibitory， through its interaction with a conserved positively charged region of the C2 domain.