title: Transgenic overexpression of PKCε in the mouse prostate induces preneoplastic lesions.
abstract: It is well established that protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes play distinctive roles in mitogenic and survival signaling as well as in cancer progression. PKCε, the product of the PRKCE gene, is up-regulated in various types of cancers including prostate, lung and breast cancer. To address a potential role for PKCs in prostate cancer progression we generated three mouse transgenic lines expressing PKCα, PKCδ, or PKCε in the prostate epithelium under the control of the rat probasin (PB) promoter. Whereas PB-PKCε and PB-PKCδ mice did not show any evident phenotype, PB-PKCε mice developed prostate hyperplasia as well as prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) that displayed enhanced phospho-Akt, phospho-S6, and phospho-Stat3 levels, as well as enhanced resistance to apoptotic stimuli. PKCε overexpression was insufficient to drive neoplastic changes in the mouse prostate. Notably, overexpression of PKCε by adenoviral means in normal immortalized RWPE-1 prostate cells confers a growth advantage and hyperactivation of Erk and Akt. Our results argue for a causal link between PKCε overexpression and prostate cancer development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benavides
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blando
authors.forename: Carlos J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Rachana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.forename: Claudio J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DiGiovanni
authors.forename: Marcelo G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kazanietz
mesh_terms: D000727:Androgen-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011467:Prostate / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000473:pathology; D019048:Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D051745:Protein Kinase C-delta / Q000378:metabolism; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D019893:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000727:Androgen-Binding Protein; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C027519:probasin; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019893:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha; D051745:Protein Kinase C-delta; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon