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To develop a functional food for improvement and/or prevention of diabetic nephropathy, we investigated whether catechins can activate DGKα, which is involved in the vitamin E-induced improvement of diabetic renal dysfunction. Among the catechins tested, (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg), (-)-catechin-3-gallate and (-)-gallocatechin-3-gallate induced DGKα translocation from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane, which is an index of DGKα activation. In contrast, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin and gallic acid did not induce the translocation. Among the four galloylated catechins, EGCg was most effective, dose-dependent and subtype-specific among type I DGKs. Importantly, EGCg did indeed up-regulate DGKα activity. In addition, we found that a 67 kDa laminin receptor (67LR) mediates the EGCg-induced activation of DGKα, and both 67LR and DGKα are expressed in …