The translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) from the cytosolic to the particulate fraction in IIC9 fibroblasts has been studied to define the functions of 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) derived from the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and phosphatidylcholine (PC). alpha-Thrombin caused a biphasic change in DAG, with two peaks at 15-60 s and 5-15 min, derived from PIP2 and PC, respectively, while platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) induced a monophasic DAG increase from PC at 5-15 min. alpha-Thrombin also induced a rapid, but transient, increase of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and cytosolic Ca2+, whereas PDGF did not. Three PKC isozymes, alpha, epsilon, and zeta, were identified by Western blotting in IIC9 cells and were mainly localized in the cytosol. A fraction of cytosolic PKC alpha was rapidly translocated by alpha-thrombin at 15 s, but its membrane association was lost within 1 min. PKC epsilon was also rapidly translocated; however, its membrane association was sustained for almost 60 min. PKC zeta was not translocated by alpha-thrombin or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. PDGF translocated PKC epsilon at 5 min but had little effect at 15 s and did not translocate PKC alpha or zeta. Incubation with Bacillus cereus PC- or phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, which increased DAG but not phosphatidic acid, stimulated translocation of PKC epsilon, but not PKC alpha or zeta. Addition of chelators to inhibit the rise in intracellular Ca2+ largely blocked PKC alpha translocation induced by alpha-thrombin but had no effect on PKC epsilon translocation. Addition of ionomycin allowed alpha-thrombin to induce PKC alpha translocation at 5 min. PKC alpha translocation was mimicked by 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol plus ionomycin, but not by either alone. On the other hand, PKC epsilon was translocated by the DAG alone. These results support the conclusion that PIP2 hydrolysis activates both PKC alpha and epsilon at 15 s, whereas PC hydrolysis activates only PKC epsilon at 5 min. The differential activation at 5 min can be attributed to the failure of PC hydrolysis to increase Ca2+ and not to a difference in the molecular species of DAG derived from the phospholipids.