Iodoaryl analogues of dioctanoylglycerol and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol as probes for protein kinase C.

Analogues of dioctanoylglycerol (diC8) and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG) containing an iodoaryl group have been synthesized and shown to compete with [3H]phorbol dibutyrate [( ([3H]PDBu) for binding to protein kinase C in a crude rat brain preparation. Phorbol diesters have been shown to bind specifically to protein kinase C and the PDBu receptor has been copurified with protein kinase C activity. All three diacylglycerol analogues were comparable to OAG in binding affinity. In an assay of protein kinase C activation, the diC8 analogue was more active than the OAG analogues, thus demonstrating greater structural specificity under the conditions of this assay.