them. Most of the crystal structure of the catalytic region of PKC has not been determined, except for PKC theta and iota. Due to its similarity to other kinases whose crystal structure have been determined, the structure can be strongly predicted. Regulatory The regulatory domain or the amino-terminus of the PKCs contains several shared subregions. The C1 domain, present in all of the isoforms of PKC has a binding site for DAG as well as non-hydrolysable, non-physiological analogues called phorbol esters. This domain is functional and capable of binding DAG in both conventional and novel isoforms, however, the C1 domain in atypical PKCs is incapable of binding to DAG or phorbol esters. The C2 domain acts as a Ca2+ sensor and is present in both conventional and novel isoforms, but functional as a Ca2+ sensor only in the conventional. The pseudosubstrate region, which is present in all three classes of PKC, is a small sequence of amino acids that mimic a substrate and bind the substrate-binding cavity in the catalytic domain, lack critical serine, threonine phosphoacceptor residues, keeping the enzyme inactive. When Ca2+ and DAG are present in sufficient concentrations, they bind to the C2 and C1 domain, respectively, and recruit PKC to the membrane. This interaction with the membrane results in release of the pseudosubstrate from the catalytic site and activation of the enzyme. In order for these allosteric interactions to occur, however, PKC must first be properly folded and in the correct conformation permissive for catalytic action. This is contingent upon phosphorylation of the catalytic region, discussed below. Catalytic The catalytic region or kinase core of the PKC allows for different functions to be processed; PKB (also known as Akt) and PKC kinases contains approximately 40% amino acid sequence similarity. This similarity increases to ~ 70% across PKCs and even higher when comparing within classes. For example, the two atypical PKC isoforms, ζ and ι/λ, are 84% identical (Selbie et al., 1993). Of the over-30 protein kinase structures whose crystal structure has been revealed, all have the same basic organization. They are a bilobal structure with a β sheet comprising the N-terminal lobe and an α helix constituting the C-terminal lobe. Both the ATP-binding protein (ATP)- and the substrate-binding sites are located in the cleft formed by these two terminal lobes. This is also where the pseudosubstrate domain of the regulatory region binds. Another feature of the PKC