Here we report that secretion and expression of HGF in U87 astrocytoma is increased by a PKC activator, PMA, an effect which is abolished by a PKC inhibitor, Go6976, specific for PKCalpha and PKCbeta1.
Taken together, our results show for the first time that retinoids, acting via the RAR and RxRs, significantly inhibit both the secretion and expression of HGF, thereby interrupting a potentially highly tumorigenic autocrine loop in astrocytoma cells.