PKC family members phosphorylate a wide variety of protein targets and are known to be involved in diverse cellular signaling pathways.

PKC family members also serve as major receptors for phorbol esters, a class of tumor promoters.

Each member of the PKC family has a specific expression profile and is believed to play a distinct role in cells.

Knockout studies in mice suggest that this kinase may be a fundamental regulator of cardiac contractility and Ca2+ handling in myocytes.

PKC-α has been widely studied in the tissues of many organisms including drosophila, xenopus, cow, dog, chicken, human, monkey, mouse, pig, and rabbit.

At low concentrations, the hydrophobic domain is shorter allowing PKC-α to readily insert into the membrane and its activity increases.

Past research has affirmed that the bile acid CDCA inhibits the healthy glucagon response through a phosphorylation-related sequence.

This was demonstrated by the ability of agonist-mediated hypertrophy to be stopped only as a result of the inhibition of PKC alpha in an experiment in situ.

On the contrary, research has shown that removing PKC alpha altogether improved the hearts ability to contract.

[12] In summary, research is pointing in the direction that PKC alpha's role in cardiac tissue has more impact as a regulator of contractility than of hypertrophy.

[12] The scientists led by neuroscientist Dominique de Quervain of the University of Basel in Switzerland used memory tests and DNA studies to conclude that people who carried a particular DNA signature in at least one copy of a gene that encodes protein kinase C alpha had stronger memory than their peers; and brain scans of people with the genetic signature show stronger brain activation in parts of the prefrontal cortex compared with those who lacked the genetic feature.

Researchers hope to learn how to exploit PKC-α's ability to turn down phospholipase D's activity and use this function to create anti-cancer drugs.

Currently, researchers understand that PKC-α is correlated with the differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells in bone marrow.

[15] By answering this question, scientists hope to gain insight into various types of hematologic diseases such as aplastic anemia and leukemia.