Astrocytic localization of the immunoreactivity for protein kinase C isozyme (type III) in human brain.

The localization of 3 major types of protein kinase C (PKC) was immunohistochemically studied in human brain using monoclonal antibodies raised against each of the types. Immunoreactivity for type I was observed in neuronal cells in cerebrum and Purkinje cells in cerebellum. Immunoreactivity for type II was mainly observed in neuropil of cerebral cortex and in the molecular and granular layers of cerebellum. Occasional neurons in cerebrum were also stained. Immunoreactivity for type III was almost exclusively localized in astrocytes in gray and white matter, subpial astrocytes, and cerebellar Bergmann's glia. The present study suggests that the type III of PKC is preferentially expressed in astrocytes in human brain.