Inhibition of PKCα reduces the ability of migration of kidney cancer cells but has no impact on cell apoptosis

Kidney cancer is among the most important causes of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. The present study aimed to evaluate protein kinase C alpha (PKC alpha) expression in kidney cancer tissues and cell lines, and its significance in apoptosis and migration. Expression of PKC alpha was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. In addition, the inhibitor of PKC alpha (calphostin C and GO6976) was used to treat kidney cancer cells. The ACHN cell line was generated with PKC alpha-small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and a stable expression of PKC alpha, in order to facilitate the analysis of apoptosis and migration of PKC alpha during knockdown and inactivation. Flow cytometry was used to determine the rates of apoptosis. Immunohistochemical staining was used to identify the localization of PKC alpha in renal clear cell carcinoma and normal sections. PKC alpha expression in normal tissues was found to be greater than in cancerous tissues. Furthermore, apoptosis was not promoted with PKC alpha inhibitors or PKC alpha-siRNA treatment, and a decrease of the migration ability was observed following transfection with PKC alpha-dominant negative. The results indicated that inhibition of PKC alpha might not contribute to apoptosis progression in kidney carcinoma.