p21WAF1 expression by an activator of protein kinase C is regulated mainly at the post-transcriptional level in cells lacking p53: important role of RNA stabilization.

p21(WAF1) inhibits cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes, causing cell cycle arrest. p21(WAF1) contains p53-binding sites in its promoter and expression of p21(WAF1) is induced by functional p53. In the present work, we have studied the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the induction of p21(WAF1) and show that induction of p21(WAF1) expression can occur by activation of PKC in cells having no p53. Human ovarian carcinoma cells, SKOV-3, lack p53 protein and PMA, a potent activator of PKC, did not induce p53. PMA increased the expression of p21(WAF1) mRNA both in these cells and in other cells which do not contain p53 (THP-1 and U937). Treatment of human embryonic fibroblasts, WI38, with PMA also induced the accumulation of p21(WAF1) without affecting p53 levels. However, PMA did not increase levels of p21(WAF1) mRNA in cells where either the PKC or the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway was blocked. Furthermore, treatment of cells with various phorbol ester derivatives which activate PKC resulted in the induction of p21(WAF1) in SKOV-3 cells. In contrast, phorbol esters which do not activate PKC failed to induce p21(WAF1) expression. PMA increased the transcriptional rate of p21(WAF1) and activated the transcription of a luciferase reporter gene, controlled by the p21 promoter, in SKOV-3 cells with or without a p53 consensus-binding sequence. By contrast, PMA markedly stabilized p21(WAF1) mRNA; the half-life (t1/2) of p21(WAF1) in PMA-treated cells was >8 h compared with <1 h in untreated cells. These findings provide evidence that the PKC pathway induces expression of p21(WAF1) independently of p53. Our present study also suggests that the accumulation of p21(WAF1) transcripts by PMA occurs mainly at post-transcriptional level.