Abstract
The protein kinase C (PKC) signal transduction pathway regulates cell death by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF). We previously showed that the induction of novel PKCη isozyme by PKC activators correlated with their ability to protect MCF-7 breast cancer cells against TNF cytotoxicity. In the present study, we have transfected PKCη in MCF-7 cells to directly examine its involvement in cell death by TNF. Overexpression of PKCη delayed TNF-induced cell death in MCF-7 cells. TNF caused a rapid activation of caspase-8 and -7 in cells transfected with a vector. The activation of these caspases was potentiated by the PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide (BIM) which downregulates PKCη and sensitizes cells to TNF. Overexpression of PKCη delayed the activation of caspase-8 and -7 by both TNF and the combination of BIM and TNF. These results suggest that PKCη protects MCF-7 cells against TNF-induced cell death by preventing the activation of caspases. (C) 2000 Academic Press.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 103-107 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 279 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 9 Dec 2000 |
Keywords
- Caspases
- MCF-7 cells
- PKCη
- TNF