Two Faces of Protein Kinase Cδ: The Contrasting Roles of PKCδ in Cell Survival and Cell Death

Protein kinase C delta (PKC delta) is a member of the PKC family that plays a critical role in the regulation of various cellular processes, including cell proliferation, cell death, and tumor promotion. Since the identification that PKC delta is a substrate for caspase-3, there has been overwhelming literature that linked PKC delta with proapoptotic signaling. While PKC delta generally functions as a proapoptotic protein during DNA damage-induced apoptosis, it can act as an antiapoptotic protein during receptor-initiated cell death. PKC delta has also been implicated in tumor suppression as well as survival of several cancers. The function of PKC delta depends on various factors, including its localization, tyrosine phosphorylation, and the presence of other pro- and antiapoptoic signaling molecules. This review discusses the current literature on the contrasting roles of PKC delta in cell survival and cell death.