Protein kinase C eta (nPKC eta) is a member of the protein kinase C family with a unique tissue distribution in skin and lung. We analyzed nPKC eta expression in normal murine lung and in 36 lung tumors induced by urethane in AC3 F1 and F2 mice. The nPKC eta-related transcript was present at fivefold to tenfold lower levels in tumors than in normal lung controls. We mapped two distinct loci for nPKC eta on murine chromosome 12, using linkage analysis in an interspecific test cross. The results indicate that the mouse Pkcn-rs1 and Pkcn-rs2 loci were about 30 cM from the centromere and about 2 cM from each other.