BDNF and Borderline personality disorder: In the first study conducted to examine the role of protein kinase C (PKC) and BDNF in BPD, researchers found that medication-free male BPD patients had lower platelet BDNF and PKC-α levels than healthy male controls, and across both males and females, phosphorylated-PKC-α (p-PKCα) and PKC-α activity was lower [389].