Breast Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breast Cancer, including details on symptoms, genetics, screening, treatment, information.

Antiproliferative and survival properties of PMA in MCF-7 breast cancer cell.

Fortino V, Torricelli C, Capurro E, Sacchi G, Valacchi G, Maioli E

Department of Physiology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Although PKCs are assumed to be the main targets of phorbol esters (PMA), additional PMA effectors, such as chimaerins (a family of RacGTPase activating proteins) and RasGRP (exchange factor for Ras/Rap1), can counteract or strengthen the PKC pathways. In this study, we evaluated the proliferative behavior of PMA-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cell and found that: PMA induced growth arrest and inhibited cell death; PMA activated ERKs, which, in turn, induced p21; and inhibitors of ERK (PD98059) and PKC (GF109203X) prevented p21 induction and abolished the PMA survival effect. We conclude that PMA inhibits MCF-7 cell growth and simultaneously stimulates cell survival; both responses are linked to ERK-dependent and p53-independent p21 induction.

Published 8 January 2008 in Cancer Invest, 26(1): 13-21.
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