Protein Kinase C and Lung Cancer

Abstract

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine/threonine kinases has been linked to the carcinogenic process of many types of human cancers including lung cancer. Lung carcinogenesis is a multistep process involving both genetic and epigenetic alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, and changes in activation of signal transduction pathways, resulting in progressive deregulation of cell proliferation and survival mechanisms. Alterations in PKC isoform expression and/or activity have been observed in human lung cancer, and functional studies have suggested that individual PKC isoforms play distinct, sometimes opposite, effects in transformation, proliferation, and survival of human lung cancer cells. This chapter provides a brief review of current knowledge regarding PKC isoform-specific roles in the pathogenesis of human lung cancer and therapeutic potential of targeting specific PKC isoforms.