Back to discover

Protein / target

Protein kinase C zeta type

Encoded byPRKCZQ05513Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
1
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Diacylglycerol-dependent serine/threonine kinase

Strongest disease association

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute

Via encoding gene PRKCZ · Clinical evidence · score 0.54

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Small molecules

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent serine/threonine-protein kinase that functions in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade, and is involved in NF-kappa-B activation, mitogenic signaling, cell proliferation, cell polarity, inflammatory re…

View complete UniProt function annotation

Calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent serine/threonine-protein kinase that functions in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade, and is involved in NF-kappa-B activation, mitogenic signaling, cell proliferation, cell polarity, inflammatory response and maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP). Upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in macrophages, or following mitogenic stimuli, functions downstream of PI3K to activate MAP2K1/MEK1-MAPK1/ERK2 signaling cascade independently of RAF1 activation. Required for insulin-dependent activation of AKT3, but may function as an adapter rather than a direct activator. Upon insulin treatment may act as a downstream effector of PI3K and contribute to the activation of translocation of the glucose transporter SLC2A4/GLUT4 and subsequent glucose transport in adipocytes. In EGF-induced cells, binds and activates MAP2K5/MEK5-MAPK7/ERK5 independently of its kinase activity and can activate JUN promoter through MEF2C. Through binding with SQSTM1/p62, functions in interleukin-1 signaling and activation of NF-kappa-B with the specific adapters RIPK1 and TRAF6. Participates in TNF-dependent transactivation of NF-kappa-B by phosphorylating and activating IKBKB kinase, which in turn leads to the degradation of NF-kappa-B inhibitors. In migrating astrocytes, forms a cytoplasmic complex with PARD6A and is recruited by CDC42 to function in the establishment of cell polarity along with the microtubule motor and dynein. In association with FEZ1, stimulates neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells. In the inflammatory response, is required for the T-helper 2 (Th2) differentiation process, including interleukin production, efficient activation of JAK1 and the subsequent phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT6. May be involved in development of allergic airway inflammation (asthma), a process dependent on Th2 immune response. In the NF-kappa-B-mediated inflammatory response, can relieve SETD6-dependent repression of NF-kappa-B target genes by phosphorylating the RELA subunit at 'Ser-311'. Phosphorylates VAMP2 in vitro (PubMed:17313651). Phosphorylates and activates LRRK1, which phosphorylates RAB proteins involved in intracellular trafficking (PubMed:36040231)

Subcellular location

CytoplasmEndosomeCell junctionMembrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (50)

Domains & features

PB1Protein kinaseAGC-kinase C-terminal

Gene Ontology

  • Capical cortex
  • Capical plasma membrane
  • Caxon hillock
  • Cbicellular tight junction
  • Ccell junction
  • Ccell-cell junction
  • Ccilium
  • Ccytoplasm
  • Ccytosol
  • Cendosome
  • Cextracellular exosome
  • Cmembrane

592 aa · 68 kDa · 3 isoforms

Biological roles

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Excitatory neurotransmissionGOKinase signallingUniProt · GOImmune signallingUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

Excitatory neurotransmission

  • ·positive regulation of excitatory postsynaptic potential

Kinase signalling

  • ·Calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent serine/threonine-protein kinase that functions i…
  • ·calcium,diacylglycerol-dependent serine/threonine kinase activity
  • ·diacylglycerol-dependent serine/threonine kinase activity
  • ·protein kinase activity

Immune signalling

  • ·Calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent serine/threonine-protein kinase that functions i…
  • ·inflammatory response
  • ·positive regulation of interleukin-10 production
  • ·positive regulation of interleukin-13 production

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 4 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute1 medicine
Mastocytosis1 medicine
Mastocytosis, Systemic1 medicine
Broader indication categories (1)
Neoplasms1 medicine

Broad umbrella indications (e.g. “Neoplasms”). Shown here because every medicine also appears under a more specific disease above — kept for completeness, de-emphasised for clarity.

Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

midostaurin
ApprovedInhibitor

Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor

Indicated for Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute, Mastocytosis, Mastocytosis, Systemic, Neoplasms

Acts on a complex — shared with PRKD3, PRKCI, PRKCA +7 more · 1 of 16 recorded protein targets — broad pharmacology

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene PRKCZ

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene PRKCZ that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
0.67Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.54

Neoplasms
0.50Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.39

Myelodysplastic syndrome
0.41Limited support

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.33

Neurodegenerative Diseases
0.26Preliminary

Pathway evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.39 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

View evidence synthesis (4)
Leukemia, Myeloid, AcuteModerately supported
0.67
agreement 0.520.83
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.54 · 2 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.50
agreement 0.340.66
Clinical88%Literature12%

Open Targets aggregate 0.39 · 2 independent evidence families

Myelodysplastic syndromeLimited support
0.41
agreement 0.260.56
Clinical96%Literature4%

Open Targets aggregate 0.33 · 2 independent evidence families

Neurodegenerative DiseasesPreliminary
0.26
agreement 0.080.44
Pathway98%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.39 · 2 independent evidence families · no direct causal or clinical evidence

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute0.54
Neurodegenerative Diseases0.39
Neoplasms0.39
Myelodysplastic syndrome0.33

Drug development

5 compounds recorded · 1 approved · 4 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (5)
SOTRASTAURINPhase 2
CEP-2563Phase 1
GSK-690693Phase 1
UCN-01Phase 2
MIDOSTAURINApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesStrong

Approved Drug and High-Quality Ligand support this modality.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (small molecule binder) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (6)
SM · Approved DrugSM · High-Quality LigandSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confPR · Small Molecule Binder

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

3

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Regulatory approval2017-09-18

    Approval: Rydapt (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via midostaurin

  2. New publication2017-07-24
    Efficacy and safety of midostaurin in patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis: 10-year median follow-up of a phase II trial.

    Leukemia · 2018 · 109 citations · Europe PMC · via midostaurin

  3. New publication2016-06-01
    Efficacy and Safety of Midostaurin in Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2016 · 371 citations · Europe PMC · via midostaurin

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.