Although experimental animal and clinical trials have suggested that additional mechanisms other than protein kinase C (PKC)-β activation are involved in the vascular pathology of diabetic complications, current knowledge on the role of PKC-δ is incomplete and inconclusive. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in both high and normal glucose conditions and infected with recombinant adenovirus to overexpress PKC-δ. PKC-δ expression was also down-regulated using the PKC-δ inhibitor, rottlerin. Using flow cytometric analysis, we showed that PKC-δ is activated and translocates to the nucleus under high glucose conditions. Augmented cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were observed in a PKC-δ-dependent manner in the HUVECs. Furthermore, proteomic analyses identified 51 high glucose-induced and PKC-δ-associated proteins, and subsequent matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis uncovered a total of 37 unique proteins. The majority of identified proteins were previously unknown targets of PKC-δ signaling and were involved in the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis, tumor suppression, transcription, stress and signal transduction within the nucleus. Our data show that PKC-δ is an important mediator of cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HUVECs under high glucose stress.

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