Expression pattern of protein kinase C ϵ during mouse embryogenesis.

Background: Protein kinase C epsilon (PKCϵ) belongs to the novel PKC subfamily, which consists of diacylglycerol dependent- and calcium independent-PKCs. Previous studies have shown that PKCϵ is important in different contexts, such as wound healing or cancer. In this study, we contribute to expand the knowledge on PKCϵ by reporting its expression pattern during murine midgestation using the LacZ reporter gene and immunostaining procedures.

Results: Sites showing highest PKCϵ expression were heart at ealier stages, and ganglia in older embryos. Other stained domains included somites, bone, stomach, kidney, and blood vessels.

Conclusions: The seemingly strong expression of PKCϵ in heart and ganglia shown in this study suggests a important role of this isoform in the vascular and nervous systems during mouse development. However, functional redundancy with other PKCs during midgestation within these domains and others reported here possibly exists since PKCϵ deficient mice do not display obvious embryonic developmental defects.