Diacylglycerol (DAG)-lactones, a New Class of Protein Kinase C (PKC) Agonists, Induce Apoptosis in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells by Selective Activation of PKCalpha (original) (raw)

Involvement of Protein Kinase C δ (PKCδ) in Phorbol Ester-induced Apoptosis in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2000

Phorbol esters, the activators of protein kinase C (PKC), induce apoptosis in androgen-sensitive LNCaP prostate cancer cells. The role of individual PKC isozymes as mediators of this effect has not been thoroughly examined to date. To study the involvement of the novel isozyme PKC␦, we used a replication-deficient adenovirus (PKC␦AdV), which allowed for a tightly controlled expression of PKC␦ in LNCaP cells. A significant reduction in cell number was observed after infection of LNCaP cells with PKC␦AdV. Overexpression of PKC␦ markedly enhanced the apoptotic effect of phorbol 12myristate 13-acetate in LNCaP cells. PKC␦-mediated apoptosis was substantially reduced by the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD and by Bcl-2 overexpression. Importantly, and contrary to other cell types, PKC␦-mediated apoptosis does not involve its proteolytic cleavage by caspase-3, suggesting that allosteric activation of PKC␦ is sufficient to trigger apoptosis in LNCaP cells. In addition, phorbol ester-induced apoptosis was blocked by a kinase-deficient mutant of PKC␦, supporting the concept that PKC␦ plays an important role in the regulation of apoptotic cell death in LNCaP prostate cancer cells.

Characterization of AJH-836, a diacylglycerol-lactone with selectivity for novel PKC isozymes

Journal of Biological Chemistry

Edited by Eric R. Fearon Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a key lipid second messenger downstream of cellular receptors that binds to the C1 domain in many regulatory proteins. Protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms constitute the most prominent family of signaling proteins with DAG-responsive C1 domains, but six other families of proteins, including the chimaerins, Ras-guanyl nucleotide-releasing proteins (RasGRPs), and Munc13 isoforms, also play important roles. Their significant involvement in cancer, immunology, and neurobiology has driven intense interest in the C1 domain as a therapeutic target. As with other classes of targets, however, a key issue is the establishment of selectivity. Here, using [ 3 H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate ([ 3 H]PDBu) competition binding assays, we found that a synthetic DAG-lactone, AJH-836, preferentially binds to the novel PKC isoforms PKC␦ and PKC⑀ relative to classical PKC␣ and PKC␤II. Assessment of intracellular translocation, a hallmark for PKC activation, revealed that AJH-836 treatment stimulated a striking preferential redistribution of PKC⑀ to the plasma membrane relative to PKC␣. Moreover, unlike with the prototypical phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), prolonged exposure of cells to AJH-836 selectively down-regulated PKC␦ and PKC⑀ without affecting PKC␣ expression levels. Biologically, AJH-836 induced major changes in cytoskeletal reorganization in lung cancer cells, as determined by the formation of membrane ruffles, via activation of novel PKCs. We conclude that AJH-836 represents a C1 domain ligand with PKC-activating properties distinct from those of natural DAGs and phorbol esters. Our study supports the feasibility of generating selective C1 domain ligands that promote novel biological response patterns.

Protein Kinase C: An Attractive Target for Cancer Therapy

2011

Apoptosis plays an important role during all stages of carcinogenesis and the development of chemoresistance in tumor cells may be due to their selective defects in the intracellular signaling proteins, central to apoptotic pathways. Consequently, many studies have focused on rendering the chemotherapy more effective in order to prevent chemoresistance and pre-clinical and clinical data has suggested that protein kinase C (PKC) may represent an attractive target for cancer therapy. Therefore, a complete understanding of how PKC regulates apoptosis and chemoresistance may lead to obtaining a PKC-based therapy that is able to reduce drug dosages and to prevent the development of chemoresistance.

Persistent membrane translocation of protein kinase C alpha during 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced apoptosis of LNCaP human prostate cancer cells

Cell growth & differentiation : the molecular biology journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 1996

Others have reported that the phorbol ester 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), an activator and down-regulator of most protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, can induce apoptotic cell death of androgen-sensitive LNCaP but not androgen-insensitive PC-3 or DU 145 human prostate cancer cells. As a first step toward uncovering the mechanism by which TPA induces apoptosis of LNCaP cells, we quantified expression of PKC isozyme mRNAs in unmodified and TPA-resistant LNCaP cells and in naturally TPA-resistant PC-3, PC-3M, and DU 145 cells. All of the cell lines and normal prostate expressed RNAs for PKC alpha, delta, epsilon, eta, and mu; only DU 145 cells and normal prostate expressed PKC beta and theta RNAs, and none expressed PKC gamma. The amount of PKC alpha RNA and protein was 6- to 38-fold lower, and PKC mu RNA was 4.5- to 16.5-fold higher in unmodified and TPA-resistant LNCaP cells than in the androgen-independent cells. We examined the effects of TPA on PKC alpha and mu mRNA lev...

Branched Diacylglycerol-Lactones as Potent Protein Kinase C Ligands and α-Secretase Activators

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2006

Using as our lead structure a potent PKC ligand (1) that we had previously described, we investigated a series of branched DAG-lactones to optimize the scaffold for PKC binding affinity and reduced lipophilicity, and we examined the potential utility of select compounds as R-secretase activators. Activation of R-secretase upon PKC stimulation by ligands causes increased degradation of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), resulting in enhanced secretion of sAPPR and reduced deposition of -amyloid peptide (A ), which is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. We modified in a systematic manner the C 5 -acyl group, the 3-alkylidene, and the lactone ring in 1 and established structure-activity relationships for this series of potent PKC ligands. Select DAG-lactones with high binding affinities for PKC were evaluated for their abilities to lead to increased sAPPR secretion as a result of R-secretase activation. The DAG-lactones potently induced R-secretase activation, and their potencies correlated with the corresponding PKC binding affinities and lipophilicities. Further investigation indicated that 2 exhibited a modestly higher level of sAPPR secretion than did phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu).

The Proteolytic Cleavage of Protein Kinase C Isotypes, Which Generates Kinase and Regulatory Fragments, Correlates with Fas-Mediated and 12-O-Tetradecanoyl-Phorbol-13-Acetate-Induced Apoptosis

European Journal of Biochemistry, 1997

Protein kinase C (PKC) has been implicated in signaling induced by diverse sets of stimuli regulating growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. The present study focused on the fate of PKC isotype proteins during Fas-mediated apoptosis of human leukemic cell lines. Among the PKC isotypes expressed in different cell types, such as Jurkat, HPB-ALL, U937, and HL60, all the nPKC isotypes including nPKC6, nPKCE, and nPKCB, but not cPKCa and fl1 and aPKCC (n, c, and a represent novel, conventional and atypical, respectively), showed limited proteolytic cleavage during Fas-mediated apoptosis. The limited proteolysis of nPKC isotypes means the disappearance of the intact protein band concomitant with the appearance of two fragments, most likely containing the kinase and regulatory domains, in contrast to the so-called down-regulation known for both cPKC and nPKC isotypes following exposure to stimuli such as 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate (TPA). The time course of Fas-mediated apoptosis in Jurkat cells parallels that of the activation of a 32-kDa cysteine protease (CPP32)-like protease and also closely parallels the proteolytic cleavage of nPKC isotypes. A peptide inhibitor of the CPP32-like protease, Ac-DEVD-CHO, blocked the proteolytic cleavage of nPKC isotypes as well as apoptosis mediated by Fas. Transfection of recombinant protein coding for the catalytic fragment of nPKCG to COSl cells resulted in the apoptotic morphology of cells and nuclei. The effect of TPA on apoptosis depends on the cell type. TPA significantly suppressed Fas-mediated apoptosis in Jurkat, whereas TPA alone caused apoptosis in HPB-ALL, U937, and HL60, only slight apoptosis in Jurkat. The proteolytic fragmentation of nPKC isotypes again closely correlated with the degree of apoptosis even in apoptosis induced by TPA. Separation of TPA-treated cells into apoptotic and non-apoptotic differentiating cells revealed that the proteolytic fragmentation of nPKC isotypes occurs only in apoptotic cells and, in adherent differentiating cells, nPKC isotypes as well as cPKCa were downregulated without the generation of nPKC fragments. These results are consistent with the idea that nPKC isotypes meet two different fates, down-regulation and proteolytic cleavage generating kinase and regulatory fragments, and that the proteolytic cleavage of nPKC isotypes is a step in the signaling pathway involved in Fas-mediated and TPA-induced apoptosis.

Investigation of the Effect of PKC Activation on In vitro Prostate Cell Metabolism using 13C NMR

2008

PKC isozymes h ave been implicated in regulating everything from transformation and proliferation of prostate cancer cells to apoptosis. Many recent studies have implicated PKC-ε, a novel PKC, in supporting cell survival and proliferation in addition to having an anti-apoptotic effect through interactions with BAX. PKC-δ is another novel PKC that has been shown to promote apoptosis in LNCaP cells, and thus antagonizing the antiapoptotic effect of PKC-ε. 13 C-NMR and 13 C(3)-aspartate supplemented media were utilized to examine the metabolism of LNCaP, DU-145 and BPH cell lines with and without activation of PKC by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Equivalent amounts of 13 C-lactate were produced by the BPH cell line irrespective of addition of PMA (0.50±0.0.06 mM without PMA and 0.50±0.04 mM with PMA). The LNCaP cells produced significantly less 13 C-lactate on PMA treatment from 0.40±0.04 mM to 0.25±0.10 mM, while the DU-145 cells nearly doubled the production of 13 C-lactate on PMA treatment from 0.27±0.09 mM to 0.53±0.09 mM. Real-time PCR experiments showed the dramatic effect of PMA on cell metabolism could not be directly explained by the relative expression level of PKC-ε and PKC-δ mRNA as there was no statistically significant difference in levels of PKC-ε and PKC-δ mRNA. These results suggest an alternative explanation, such as 2 nd messenger expression levels, need to be explored.

Multiple effects of N-a-tosyl-L-phenylalanyl chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) on apoptotic pathways in human prostatic carcinoma cell lines

Cancer Biology & Therapy, 2004

TPCK is widely used as an inhibitor of chymotrypsin-like proteases but has recently been identified as an inhibitor of the PDK1/Akt pathway. In this study, we show that TPCK inhibits TRAIL-induced caspase activity but potentiates wortmannin-dependent caspase activity in prostatic carcinoma cell lines. The inhibitory activity of TPCK was found to be death ligand-specific since TPCK inhibits TRAIL-mediated caspase activity but does not affect Fas-induced caspase activity. Our data also show that impaired TRAIL-DISC formation in the presence of TPCK is responsible for caspase inhibition. Further, TPCK induces p53 expression and inhibits the PDK1/Akt pathway resulting in BAD dephosphorylation, and the release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO from mitochondria. TPCK also selectively decreases the levels of androgen receptor and caspase-2 whereas it does not change the levels of other proteins (caspases-3, -7, -8, -9; heat shock proteins 27, 70, 90). Finally, TPCK-induced degradation of caspase-2 is protected by Bcl-2 overexpression, apparently by an adapter protein since direct interaction between caspase-2 and Bcl-2 was not detected. Together, these features suggest that TPCK could be used as a therapeutic agent for treatment of those tumor cells that are resistant to ligand-induced treatment because of aberrant signaling pathways downstream of the DISC.