Abstract
Protein kinase C (PKC)-δ is proapoptotic in human keratinocytes, and is downregulated or inactivated in keratinocytes expressing the activated Ha-ras oncogene, making it a candidate tumor suppressor gene for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We evaluated the significance of PKC-δ loss in transformed human keratinocytes using tumorigenic HaCaT Ras II-4 cells that have significantly reduced PKC-δ levels. Re-expression of PKC-δ by retrovirus transduction caused an increase in apoptosis and growth inhibition in culture. The growth inhibition induced by PKC-δ could be partially reversed by Bcl-xL expression, indicating that apoptosis was in part responsible for PKC-δ-induced growth inhibition. PKC-δ re-expression suppressed the tumorigenicity of HaCaT Ras II-4 cells in nude mice (P < 0.05), and the small tumors that did form contained elevated levels of activated caspase-3, indicating increased apoptosis. In addition, we found that 29% (12/42) of human Bowen's disease (squamous carcinoma in situ) or SCC cases had absent or reduced PKC-δ when compared to the surrounding normal epidermis. These results indicate that PKC-δ inhibits transformed keratinocyte growth by inducing apoptosis, and that PKC-δ may function as a tumor suppressor in human SCCs where its loss in cells harboring activated ras could provide a growth advantage by conferring resistance to apoptosis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 378-386 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Oncogene |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 19 2006 |
Keywords
- Protein kinase C-δ
- Skin cancer
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Tumor suppressor gene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Cancer Research