Protein kinase C activity and expression in normal and adenomatous human pituitaries

Protein kinase C (PKC) activity and expression were measured in 54 adenomas (prolactin (PRL)-, growth hormone (GH)- and non-secreting), 1 of them obtained from a patient treated with the dopamine agonist bromocriptine and 2 from patients treated with the somatostatin analog octreotide. They were also measured in normal human and rat pituitaries. Total PKC activity was measured by incorporation of 32P into histones, and PKC expression by dot blot immunoquantification using purified PKC as a standard. Both enzyme activity and expression were higher in adenomatous pituitaries than in normal human or rat pituitaries. PKC expression in GH-secreting and non-secreting tumors was significantly higher than that in PRL-secreting tumors. Furthermore, it was significantly higher invasive tumors than in non-invasive tumors. In the 3 adenomas which were obtained from patients treated with bromocriptine or octreotide and which were used for PKC-activity measurement, particulate- and soluble-PKC activities were significantly lower than those measured in non-treated adenomas.