Upregulation of a Hydra vulgaris cPKC gene is tightly coupled to the differentiation of head structures.

Two different cDNA clones from Hydra (HvPKC1a and HvPKC1b) were characterized, which encode members of the cPKC family of protein kinase Cs (PKCs). The two predicted proteins differ only in their amino-terminal sequences and thus probably represent the products of alternatively spliced mRNAs from a single gene. In situ hybridization with a probe recognizing sequences in common between the two mRNAs detects HvPKC1 RNA in all parts of the adult polyp except the foot. The mRNA is contained in ecto- and endodermal epithelial cells as well as a certain subset of gland cells and pairs of interstitial cells. During head and foot formation, induced by either regeneration, budding, lithium treatment or repeated application of a diacylglycerol, HvPKC1 expression is upregulated immediately prior to the evagination of tentacles and downregulated by foot formation. Although PKC activity is clearly inducible in vitro by diacylglycerol and a tumour promoting phorbol ester, structural features detected in the regulatory domains of HvPKC1a and 1b indicate that endogenous activators for Hydra PKC might differ from those of other organisms. The results corroborate the hypothesis that signal transduction systems using protein kinase C are key elements controlling the formation of head structures in Hydra.