Regulation of intracellular calcium is an important signaling mechanism for cell proliferation in both normal and cancerous cells. In normal epithelial cells, free calcium concentration is essential for cells to enter and accomplish the S phase and the M phase of the cell cycle. In contrast, cancerous cells can pass these phases of the cell cycle with much lower cytoplasmic free calcium concentrations, indicating an alternative mechanism has developed for fulfilling the intracellular calcium requirement for an increased rate of DNA synthesis and mitosis of fast replicating cancerous cells. The detailed mechanism underlying the altered calcium loading pathway remains unclear; however, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests the T-type Ca 2+ channel is abnormally expressed in cancerous cells and that blockade of these channels may reduce cell proliferation in addition to inducing apoptosis. Recent studies also show that the expression of T-type Ca 2+ channels in breast cancer cells is proliferation state dependent, i.e. the channels are expressed at higher levels during the fast-replication period, and once the cells are in a non-proliferation state, expression of this channel is minimal. Therefore, selectively blocking calcium entry into cancerous cells may be a valuable approach for preventing tumor growth. Since T-type Ca 2+ channels are not expressed in epithelial cells, selective T-type Ca 2+ channel blockers may be useful in the treatment of certain types of cancers.

We have identified a novel function for a member of the transient receptor potential (TRP) protein super-family, TRPM2, in prostate cancer cell proliferation. TRPM2 encodes a non-selective cationpermeable ion channel. We found that selectively knocking down TRPM2 with the small interfering RNA technique inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells but not of non-cancerous cells. The subcellular localization of this protein is also remarkably different between cancerous and non-cancerous cells. In BPH-1 (benign), TRPM2 protein is homogenously located near the plasma membrane and in the cytoplasm, whereas in the cancerous cells (PC-3 and DU-145), a significant amount of the TRPM2 protein is located in the nuclei in a clustered pattern. Furthermore, we have found that TRPM2 inhibited nuclear ADP-ribosylation in prostate cancer cells. However, TRPM2 knockdown-induced inhibition of proliferation is independent of the activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases. We conclude that TRPM2 is essential for prostate cancer cell proliferation and may be a potential target for the selective treatment of prostate cancer.

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The purpose of this study is to demonstrate MCF-7 cells' dependence on calcium for growth and to exploit that dependence to improve chemotherapy efficacy. Fura-2 fluorescence imaging shows that MCF-7 cells maintain a higher basal intracellular calcium concentration than non-tumorigenic MCF-10A cells. Blocking T-type calcium channels with mibefradil reduced MCF-7 intracellular calcium concentration. Flow cytometry shows that knocking down T-type calcium channel expression with siRNA caused an increase in MCF-7 cells in G1 phase and a decrease in cells in S phase. Proliferation assays of MCF-7 cells treated with EGTA and thapsigargin reveal the dependence of MCF-7 cell growth on extracellular and intracellular calcium sources, respectively. In vitro, interlaced treatment that alternated the T-type calcium channel blocker NNC-55-0396 with paclitaxel more effectively reduced MCF-7 cell number than chemotherapy alone. In a mouse in vivo model, interlaced mibefradil and paclitaxel more effectively reduced MCF-7 xenograft size than chemotherapy alone. These findings indicate that MCF-7 cells are dependent on calcium for proliferation, particularly in passing the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint. Further, this dependence on calcium can be exploited by alternating treatment with T-type calcium channel blockers with paclitaxel in an interlaced therapy scheme that increases the efficacy of the chemotherapy.

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