Overexpression of protein kinase Cα mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma: A potential marker of disease prognosis

AbstractMembers 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.MethodsWe 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.ResultsWe 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).ConclusionsOur results suggested that the PKCα may be a prognostic factor for the survival of patients with HCC.