Protein kinase C delta involvement in mammary tumor cell metastasis

Metastasis requires cytoskeletal remodeling for migration, adhesion, and extravasation of metastatic cells. Although protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in tumor promotion/progression and cytoskeletal remodeling, its role in metastasis has not been defined. PKCdelta levels are increased in highly metastatic 13762NF mammary tumor cells (MTLn3) compared with less metastatic, parental cell lines. To determine whether the increase in endogenous PKCdelta is functionally related to their increased metastatic potential, we prepared MTLn3 cells that express the inhibitory regulatory domain fragment of PKCdelta (RDdelta) under the control of a tetracycline-inducible promoter. RDdelta expression attenuated endogenous PKCdelta activity, as demonstrated by decreased phosphorylation of the PKCdelta substrate adducin in migrating cells. Thus, in MT cells, RDdelta appears to primarily influence cytoskeleton-dependent processes rather than cell cycle progression. To determine whether RDdelta expression influenced metastatic potential in vivo, MTLn3/RDdelta cells were either grown in the mammary fat pad or injected into the tail vein of syngeneic rats, and effects of doxycycline-induced RDdelta expression on pulmonary metastases were studied. Consistent with the in vitro data, induction of RDdelta significantly reduced the number of lung metastases without affecting growth of the primary tumor. These results suggest that interfering with endogenous PKCdelta activity by expressing the inhibitory RDdelta fragment inhibits cytoskeleton-regulated processes important for MTLn3 cell metastasis.