Calcium channels and cancer stem cells

• Published in: Cell calcium (Edinburgh) 2019-07, Vol.81, p.21-28
• Main Authors: O’Reilly, Debbie, Buchanan, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Calcium; Calcium channels; Cancer stem cells; Treatment resistance; Tumour relapse
• ISSN: 0143-4160; 1532-1991
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2019.05.006

Cancer stem cells (CSC’s) are considered the cell of origin in tumour development and are also implicated in treatment resistance. Current treatments target the prolifering tumour bulk but fail to remove CSC’s which subsquently promote tumour relapse. Calcium is funademental for normal cellular function and its dysruption is linked to a number of patholgies. In CSC’s abberant expresssion or function of a number of calcium channels involed in calcium entry and intracellular store release have been demonstrated. Such changes have been linked to altered CSC processes such as proliferation, self renewal, differentiation and the regulation of stem pathways, which together ulimately promote tumour progression. This highlights calcium channels as novel CSC targets that could aid in their removal from the tumour bulk preventing relapse and proloning surivial. [Display omitted] •Cancer stem cells are implicated in tumour development and treatment resistance.•Expression and or function of a number of calcium channel families have been observed in cancer stem cells.•These channels are associated with key cancer stem cell processes such as proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation•Calcium channels represent potential emerging targets for cancer stem cell therapies. Cancer stem cells (CSC’s) have emerged as a key area of investigation due to associations with cancer development and treatment resistance, related to their ability to remain quiescent, self-renew and terminally differentiate. Targeting CSC’s in addition to the tumour bulk could ensure complete removal of the cancer, lessening the risk of relapse and improving patient survival. Understanding the mechanisms supporting the functions of CSC’s is essential to highlight targets for the development of therapeutic strategies. Changes in intracellular calcium through calcium channel activity is fundamental for integral cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, differentiation and survival in a range of cell types, under both normal and pathological conditions. Here in we highlight how calcium channels represent a key mechanism involved in CSC function. It is clear that expression and or function of a number of channels involved in calcium entry and intracellular store release are altered in CSC’s. Correlating with aberrant proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation, which in turn promoted cancer progression and treatment resistance. Research outlined has demonstrated that targeting altered cal