The link between PKCα regulation and cellular transformation

Protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in response to a diverse range of stimuli. In order to execute these biological events PKCalpha activity is modulated by, and functionally interacts with, a number of proto-oncogenes, therefore it is perhaps unsurprising that dysregulation of PKCalpha is associated with a diverse range of cancers. Recently, PKCalpha has become a target for a number of anti-cancer therapies. The purpose of this review is to describe how PKCalpha regulates key biological events, to gain an insight into how PKCalpha-mediated cellular transformation may occur. In this way, it may be possible to design therapeutic tools to combat cancers specifically associated with PKCalpha dysfunction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.