蛋白激酶c（pkc）是一個絲氨酸和蘇氨酸特異性蛋白激酶家族，可被鈣和第二信使甘油二酯激活。pkc家族成員磷酸化多種蛋白質靶點，參與多種細胞信號傳導途徑。pkc也是一類腫瘤促進劑佛波酯的主要受體。pkc家族的每個成員都有一個特定的表達譜，并且被認為在細胞中扮演著不同的角色。該基因編碼的蛋白是pkc家族成員之一。這種蛋白激酶僅在大腦和脊髓中表達，其定位僅限于神經元。已有研究表明，包括長時程增強（ltp）和長時程抑制（ltd）在內的多種神經功能都需要這種激酶。小鼠的基因敲除研究也表明，這種激酶可能與神經病理性疼痛的發展有關。該蛋白的缺陷與神經退行性疾病脊髓小腦ATAXIA14（SCA14）有關。已經發現了兩個編碼不同亞型的轉錄變體。
Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of serine- and threonine-specific protein kinases that can be activated by calcium and second messenger diacylglycerol. PKC family members phosphorylate a wide variety of protein targets and are known to be involved in diverse cellular signaling pathways. PKC 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 distinct roles in cells. The protein encoded by this gene is one of the PKC family members. This protein kinase is expressed solely in the brain and spinal cord and its localization is restricted to neurons. It has been demonstrated that several neuronal functions, including long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD), specifically require this kinase. Knockout studies in mice also suggest that this kinase may be involved in neuropathic pain development. Defects in this protein have been associated with neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia-14 (SCA14). Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.