Overexpression of protein kinase Cα mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract: Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzyme family play a central role in the tumorigenesis of several tissues. However, little is known about subtype specific intracellular expression of PKC in human hepatocellular carcinomas. Methods: We investigated PKC isoforms mRNA expression in 42 HCC specimens using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, and the correlation between PKC isoforms expression and clinicopathologic parameters. Results: We found that PKCα, PKCδ and PKCι mRNA were significantly increased in HCCs as compared to the corresponding non-cancerous liver tissues. PKCα expression also significantly correlated with tumor size (P < 0.05) and TNM stage (P < 0.05), but PKCδ and PKCι did not. The log-rank analysis revealed that patients with higher PKCα mRNA expression in the HCC tissues had significantly shorter survival rate than patients with lower PKCα mRNA expression (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Our results suggested that the PKCα may be a prognostic factor for the survival of patients with HCC.