The ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) family consists of multidomain cell-surface proteins that have a major impact on cell behavior. These transmembraneanchored proteins are synthesized as proforms that have (from the N terminus): a prodomain; a metalloprotease-, disintegrin-like-, cysteine-rich, epidermal growth factor-like, and transmembrane domain; and a cytoplasmic tail. The 90-kDa mature form of human ADAM12 is generated in the trans-Golgi through cleavage of the prodomain by a furin-peptidase and is stored intracellularly until translocation to the cell surface as a constitutively active protein. However, little is known about the regulation of ADAM12 cell-surface translocation. Here, we used human RD rhabdomyosarcoma cells, which express ADAM12 at the cell surface, in a temporal pattern. We report that protein kinase C (PKC) ⑀ induces ADAM12 translocation to the cell surface and that catalytic activity of PKC⑀ is required for this translocation. Cells possess a diverse array of surface proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates that provide active gateways for the selective intake and release of molecular information, which is important in regulating cell behavior. In fact, many disease processes relate to disorganized cell-surface communication systems. ADAMs 1 belong to a large family of cell-surface proteins with over 30 members. The prototypical ADAM molecule is a transmembrane glycoprotein composed of several distinct domains, including a prodomain and a metalloprotease, disintegrin-like, cysteine-rich, epidermal growth factor-like, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domain. ADAMs play important roles in cell adhesion, interacting with integrins and syndecans, and in the proteolysis of the ectodomains of cell-surface proteins,