Previously, we have s
hown that protein kinase C
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
(PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
) forms a direct high-affinity, isozyme-specific and membrane lipid-independent interaction with R
ho GTPases [Slater, S. J., Seiz, J. L., Stagliano,B. A., and Stubbs, C. D. (2001)
Biochemistry 40, 4437-4445]. Since the cellular activation of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
involves an initial translocation from cytosolic to membrane compartments, the present study investigatesthe interdependence between the direct protein-protein interaction of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
with the R
ho GTPase, Cdc42,and the protein-lipid interactions of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
with membranes. It was hypothesized that the interaction ofPKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
with membrane-bound Cdc42 would contribute to the overall membrane-binding affinity of thekinase by providing an additional anc
hor. However, it was found that the incorporation of isoprenylatedCdc42 into membranes resulted in an apparent
decrease in the membrane-binding affinity of PKC
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, whereasthe association of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
I, PKC
![](/images/gifchars/delta.gif)
, PKC
![](/images/gifchars/epsilon.gif)
, and PKC
![](/images/gifchars/zeta.gif)
was each unaffected. The presence of membrane-bound Cdc42 resulted in a rightward shift in both the PS- and Ca
2+-concentration response curves forPKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
membrane association and for the ensuing activation, whereas the maximal levels of binding andactivation attained at saturating PS and Ca
2+ concentrations were in each case unaffected. Overall, thesefindings suggest that PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
undergoes a isozyme-specific interaction with membrane-bound Cdc42 toform a PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
-Cdc42 complex, which possesses a membrane-binding affinity that is
reduced relative tothat of the individual components due to competition between Cdc42 and PS/Ca
2+ for binding to PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
.Consistent with this, it was found that the interaction of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
with membrane-bound Cdc42 wasaccompanied by the physical dissociation of the PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
-Cdc42 complex from membranes. Thus, thestudy provides a novel mechanism by which the membrane association and activation of PKC
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
and Cdc42may be regulated by competing protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions.