title: The identification of four protein kinase C isoforms in human glioblastoma cell lines: PKC alpha, gamma, epsilon, and zeta.
abstract: Levels of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in eight human glioblastoma cell lines and two normal human glial cell cultures were determined. Earlier studies identified PKC-alpha and PKC-gamma in these cell lines but PKC-beta was not present. In this study, PKC-epsilon and PKC-zeta are demonstrated immunologically in these cell lines and also in two normal human glial cell cultures. Protein kinase C-delta was not present. When levels of the four isoforms in the tumor cells were compared to levels in the normal cells, no increase was observed in PKC-alpha or PKC-gamma, but PKC-epsilon was elevated three to 30 times in six of the eight tumors, and PKC-zeta was elevated approximately two times in all of the tumors. Incubation of cell line A172 with phorbol ester for 6 hours resulted in a 48-fold maximum increase in the nuclear PKC-epsilon and a sevenfold increase in the plasma membrane fraction with no change in the cytoplasmic fraction. A similar incubation for 4 hours produced a 0.5- to onefold increase of PKC-zeta in cytoplasmic, nuclear, and plasma membrane fractions. Other researchers have shown that overexpression of PKC-epsilon in fibroblasts results in tumorigenesis, and that blocking PKC-zeta function inhibits deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis. These data suggest that alteration in the expression of PKC-epsilon and PKC-zeta could be a factor in the conversion of normal glial cells to glioblastomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Goldthwait
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mapstone
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000201:enzymology; D003600:Cytosol / Q000201:enzymology; D015870:Gene Expression; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000099221:Protein Kinase C zeta
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon; D000099221:Protein Kinase C zeta; C087857:protein kinase C gamma; C496628:PRKCA protein, human; C497255:PRKCE protein, human