Protein kinase C isozymes in stroke

Stroke is a devastating neurologic disease and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Thrombolytic agents have been used to reestablish circulation in thromboembolic stroke, but their utility is limited by hemorrhage and reperfusion injury. Studies with experimental stroke models, mouse genetics, and selective peptide inhibitors and activators have implicated protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon in ischemic preconditioning and PKC delta and gamma in tissue injury. PKC delta, resident both in neutrophils and in the brain, appears particularly essential for reperfusion injury, and recent work using PKC delta-specific peptide inhibitors suggests that PKC delta inhibitors could prove useful in attenuating reperfusion injury and improving outcome following thrombolysis. (c) 2005, Elsevier Inc.