Increased protein kinase C activity in fibroblast membranes from psoriatic patients.

The activity of phospholipid/Ca2+-dependent protein kinase (PKc) was measured in the membrane and cytosolic fractions of normal and psoriatic human fibroblasts. The psoriatic fibroblasts displayed higher membrane-associated PKc activity than normal cells. In contrast, no significant difference in PKc activities was observed in cytosolic fractions from normal and psoriatic fibroblasts. These data suggest that PKc is preferentially associated with the membrane in psoriatic fibroblasts and that such elevated PKc activity in membranes may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.