Overexpression of protein kinase Calpha in MCF-10A human breast cells engenders dramatic alterations in morphology, proliferation, and motility.

A nonmetastatic human mammary epithelial cell line (MCF-10A) was engineered to overproduce protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha) so as to investigate a role for this isoform in the metastatic phenotype. PKCalpha transfectants (clone 26alpha) expressed an 8-fold higher level of PKCalpha protein without compensatory alterations in other isoforms. Clone 26alpha proliferated slowly (accumulating in G1 of the cell cycle) but exhibited pronounced increases in motility and adhesion. Elevated expression of cell cycle inhibitor p27 and focal adhesion proteins was observed, whereas E-cadherin expression decreased to undetectable levels. These observations were consistent with the morphology of PKCalpha transfectants (large, disaggregated, and flat, with lamellipodia and extensive actin fibers) and control cells (small, aggregated, and refractile). Treatment with PKC inhibitors or transfection of a dominant negative (dn) mutant of Rac1, but neither dn RhoA nor dn cdc42, reduced the motility of clone 26alpha, implicating PKCalpha catalytic activity and endogenous Rac1, respectively, in the PKCalpha-induced phenotype. Overall, PKCalpha overexpression suppresses proliferation while endowing MCF-10A cells with properties consistent with the metastatic phenotype.