Previous in-vitro studies have shown that 5-amino-1-((1R,2S,3S,4R)-2,3-dihydroxy-4-methylcyclopentyl)-1H-imidazole-4-carboxamide (ICA-1s), a PKC-ι specific inhibitor, is effective against some cancer cell lines by decreasing cell growth and inducing apoptosis.
Of these, PRKCI is one of the most frequently amplified and overexpressed genes and its expression induced cancer cell proliferation and migration/invasion <i>in vitro</i> as well as tumor growth <i>in vivo</i>.
Protein kinase C iota (PKCι), a serine/threonine kinase required for cell polarity, proliferation and migration, is commonly up- or downregulated in cancer.
This function appears to be restricted to cancer cells and inhibition of PKCι may therefore be an effective way to selectively activate premature senescence in cancer cells.