The Role of TRPM7 in Oncogenesis.

This review summarizes the current understanding of the role of transient receptor potential melastatin-subfamily member 7 (TRPM7) channels in the pathophysiology of neoplastic diseases. The TRPM family represents the largest and most diverse group in the TRP superfamily. Its subtypes are expressed in virtually all human organs playing a central role in (patho)physiological events. The TRPM7 protein (along with TRPM2 and TRPM6) is unique in that it has kinase activity in addition to the channel function. Numerous studies demonstrate the role of TRPM7 chanzyme in tumorigenesis and in other tumor hallmarks such as proliferation, migration, invasion and metastasis. Here we provide an up-to-date overview about the possible role of TRMP7 in a broad range of malignancies such as tumors of the nervous system, head and neck cancers, malignant neoplasms of the upper gastrointestinal tract, colorectal carcinoma, lung cancer, neoplasms of the urinary system, breast cancer, malignant tumors of the female reproductive organs, prostate cancer and other neoplastic pathologies. Experimental data show that the increased expression and/or function of TRPM7 are observed in most malignant tumor types. Thus, TRPM7 chanzyme may be a promising target in tumor therapy.

Selective upregulation of the expression of plasma membrane calcium ATPase isoforms upon differentiation and 1,25(OH)2D3-vitamin treatment of colon cancer cells.

We have previously presented co-expression of the plasma membrane calcium ATPase isoforms 4b (PMCA4b) and 1b (PMCA1b) in colon carcinoma cells, and selective upregulation of PMCA4b during differentiation initiated by short chain fatty acids or post-confluent growth. Here we show that the induction of PMCA4b expression is a characteristic feature of the post-confluency-induced differentiation of both enterocyte-type and goblet cell-type colon cancer cells. Vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) is a well-known regulator of intestinal Ca(2+) absorption and of basic cell functions such as growth and differentiation in various cell types. As PMCA proteins are involved both in intestinal Ca(2+) absorption and adenocarcinoma cell differentiation, we investigated the effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on PMCA expression in enterocyte-like colon carcinoma cells, and monitored its effect on the expression of various differentiation markers. 1,25(OH)2D3 stimulated PMCA1b, but not PMCA4b expression without modulating the expression of the majority of the differentiation markers examined. Caco-2 cells differentiated in post-confluent cultures present normal enterocyte-like intestinal epithelial phenotype. To better understand the role of PMCA proteins in vectorial Ca(2+) transport by enterocytes, we also studied their subcellular localization in mature polarized Caco-2 cells. Both PMCA isoforms were located to the basolateral membrane, and the PMCA-specific immunofluorescent signal was significantly higher in vitamin D3-treated cells, underlining the 1,25(OH)2D3-induced upregulation of PMCA (presumably 1b isoform) expression in differentiated Caco-2 cells. We suggest that while PMCA1b has a housekeeping function in colon cancer cells, PMCA4b participates in the reorganization of the Ca(2+) signalling machinery during cell differentiation. The subcellular localization of PMCA1b and its selective 1,25(OH)2D3-dependent upregulation indicate that this isoform may have a specific role in 1,25(OH)2D3-stimulated intestinal Ca(2+) absorption.

Isoform-specific up-regulation of plasma membrane Ca2+ATPase expression during colon and gastric cancer cell differentiation.

In this work we demonstrate a differentiation-induced up-regulation of the expression of plasma membrane Ca2+ATPase (PMCA) isoforms being present in various gastric/colon cancer cell types. We found PMCA1b as the major isoform in non-differentiated cancer cell lines, whereas the expression level of PMCA4b was significantly lower. Cell differentiation initiated with short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and trichostatin A, or spontaneous differentiation of post-confluent cell cultures resulted in a marked induction of PMCA4b expression, while only moderately increased PMCA1b levels. Up-regulation of PMCA4b expression was demonstrated both at the protein and mRNA levels, and closely correlated with the induction of established differentiation markers. In contrast, the expression level of the Na+/K+-ATPase or that of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ATPase 2 protein did not change significantly under these conditions. In membrane vesicles obtained from SCFA-treated gastric/colon cancer cells a marked increase in the PMCA-dependent Ca2+ transport activity was observed, indicating a general increase of PMCA function during the differentiation of these cancer cells. Because various PMCA isoforms display distinct functional characteristics, we suggest that up-regulated PMCA expression, together with a major switch in PMCA isoform pattern may significantly contribute to the differentiation of gastric/colon cancer cells. The analysis of PMCA expression may provide a new diagnostic tool for monitoring the tumor phenotype.