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Arunrungvichian K, Vajragupta O, Hayakawa Y, Pongrakhananon V. Targeting Alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Lung Cancer: Insights, Challenges, and Therapeutic Strategies. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2024; 7:28-41. [PMID: 38230275 PMCID: PMC10789132 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.3c00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) is an ion-gated calcium channel that plays a significant role in various aspects of cancer pathogenesis, particularly in lung cancer. Preclinical studies have elucidated the molecular mechanism underlying α7 nAChR-associated lung cancer proliferation, chemotherapy resistance, and metastasis. Understanding and targeting this mechanism are crucial for developing therapeutic interventions aimed at disrupting α7 nAChR-mediated cancer progression and improving treatment outcomes. Drug research and discovery have determined natural compounds and synthesized chemical antagonists that specifically target α7 nAChR. However, approved α7 nAChR antagonists for clinical use are lacking, primarily due to challenges related to achieving the desired selectivity, efficacy, and safety profiles required for effective therapeutic intervention. This comprehensive review provided insights into the molecular mechanisms associated with α7 nAChR and its role in cancer progression, particularly in lung cancer. Furthermore, it presents an update on recent evidence about α7 nAChR antagonists and addresses the challenges encountered in drug research and discovery in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuntarat Arunrungvichian
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
- Unit
of Compounds Library for Drug Discovery, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Opa Vajragupta
- Research
Affairs, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Yoshihiro Hayakawa
- Institute
of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Varisa Pongrakhananon
- Department
of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Preclinical
Toxicity and Efficacy Assessment of Medicines and Chemicals Research
Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
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Capitani C, Chioccioli Altadonna G, Santillo M, Lastraioli E. Ion channels in lung cancer: biological and clinical relevance. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1283623. [PMID: 37942486 PMCID: PMC10627838 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1283623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite improvements in treatment, lung cancer is still a major health problem worldwide. Among lung cancer subtypes, the most frequent is represented by adenocarcinoma (belonging to the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer class) although the most challenging and harder to treat is represented by Small Cell Lung Cancer, that occurs at lower frequency but has the worst prognosis. For these reasons, the standard of care for these patients is represented by a combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In this view, searching for novel biomarkers that might help both in diagnosis and therapy is mandatory. In the last 30 years it was demonstrated that different families of ion channels are overexpressed in both lung cancer cell lines and primary tumours. The altered ion channel profile may be advantageous for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes since most of them are localised on the plasma membrane thus their detection is quite easy, as well as their block with specific drugs and antibodies. This review focuses on ion channels (Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Chloride, Anion and Nicotinic Acetylcholine receptors) in lung cancer (both Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cancer) and recapitulate the up-to-date knowledge about their role and clinical relevance for a potential use in the clinical setting, for lung cancer diagnosis and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Capitani
- General Pathology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Internal Medicine Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Ginevra Chioccioli Altadonna
- General Pathology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Internal Medicine Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Michele Santillo
- General Pathology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Internal Medicine Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Elena Lastraioli
- General Pathology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Internal Medicine Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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Pandey N, Chongtham J, Pal S, Ali A, Lalwani S, Jain D, Mohan A, Srivastava T. When "No-Smoking" is not enough: Hypoxia and nicotine acetylcholine receptor signaling may drive lung adenocarcinoma progression in never-smokers. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH 2023; 1870:119302. [PMID: 35649481 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2022.119302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The question of how lung cancer progresses in never-smokers remains largely unanswered. In our analysis of data from 1727 lung cancer patients, we observed a difference of only 47 days in the overall survival between lung adenocarcinoma patients who were smokers vis-a-vis never-smokers - the disease has a poor prognosis irrespective of the smoking status, or gender. We have investigated the possible collaboration between the nAChR and hypoxia signaling pathway to explicate a mechanism of disease progression in never-smokers using patient-derived tumor cells. We found a previously unidentified increase in both acetylcholine and nAChR-α7 levels in non-small cell lung cancer cells in hypoxia. A similar increase in ubiquitously expressed nAChR-α7 transcripts was also observed in other cancer lines and primary tumor tissues. A direct binding of HIF-1α with the hypoxia-response element (HRE) present at -48 position preceding the transcriptional start site in nAChR-α7 promoter region was established. Crucially, the increased acetylcholine levels in hypoxia drove a feedback loop via modulation of PI3K/AKT pathway to stabilize HIF-1α in hypoxia. Further, hypoxia-mediated metastasis and induction of HIF-1α in these cells was significantly reversed by bungarotoxin, an antagonist of nAChR-α7. The nAChR-AKT-HIF network needs to be further investigated to conclusively prove its mechanism and to explore its therapeutic potential. Our study gives a plausible explanation for the equally worse prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma in never-smokers wherein the nAChR signaling is enhanced in hypoxia by acetylcholine in the absence of nicotine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namita Pandey
- Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India; Clinical Genomic Knowledgebase, PierianDx, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | - Jonita Chongtham
- Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India.
| | | | - Ashraf Ali
- Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Sanjeev Lalwani
- Department of Forensic Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Deepali Jain
- Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Anant Mohan
- Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Tapasya Srivastava
- Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India.
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Glycopyrronium bromide regulates cigarette smoke-induced epithelial mesenchymal transition by mediating ACh production. J Mol Struct 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.133549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Tobacco carcinogen induces tryptophan metabolism and immune suppression via induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2022; 7:311. [PMID: 36068203 PMCID: PMC9448807 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-01127-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), the enzyme that catabolizes tryptophan (Trp) metabolism to promote regulatory T cells (Tregs) and suppress CD8+ T cells, is regulated by several intrinsic signaling pathways. Here, we found that tobacco smoke, a major public health concern that kills 8 million people each year worldwide, induced IDO1 in normal and malignant lung epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. The carcinogen nicotine-derived nitrosaminoketone (NNK) was the tobacco compound that upregulated IDO1 via activation of the transcription factor c-Jun, which has a binding site for the IDO1 promoter. The NNK receptor α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) was required for NNK-induced c-Jun activation and IDO1 upregulation. In A/J mice, NNK reduced CD8+ T cells and increased Tregs. Clinically, smoker patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibited high IDO1 levels and low Trp/kynurenine (Kyn) ratios. In NSCLC patients, smokers with lower IDO1 responded better to anti-PD1 antibody treatment than those with higher IDO1. These data indicate that tobacco smoke induces IDO1 to catabolize Trp metabolism and immune suppression to promote carcinogenesis, and lower IDO1 might be a potential biomarker for anti-PD1 antibodies in smoker patients, whereas IDO1-high smoker patients might benefit from IDO1 inhibitors in combination with anti-PD1 antibodies.
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Pal K, Hussain T, Xie H, Li S, Yang P, Mansfield A, Lou Y, Chowdhury S, Mukhopadhyay D. Expression, correlation, and prognostic significance of different nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, programed death ligand 1, and dopamine receptor D2 in lung adenocarcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:959500. [PMID: 36072788 PMCID: PMC9441878 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.959500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the expression of different nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), and dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) as prognostic factors in lung cancer and any correlation among them. Since all of the above genes are typically upregulated in response to smoking, we hypothesized that a correlation might exist between DRD2, PD-L1, and nAChR expression in NSCLC patients with a smoking history and a prediction model may be developed to assess the clinical outcome. Methods We retrospectively analyzed samples from 46 patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection at Mayo Clinic Rochester from June 2000 to October 2008. The expression of PD-L1, DRD2, CHRNA5, CHRNA7, and CHRNA9 were analyzed by quantitative PCR and correlated amongst themselves and with age, stage and grade, smoking status, overall survival (OS), and relapse-free survival (RFS). Results Only PD-L1 showed a statistically significant increase in expression in patients older than 65. All the above genes showed higher expression in stage IIIB than IIIA, but none reached statistical significance. Interestingly, we did not observe significant differences among never, former, and current smokers, but patients with pack years greater than 30 showed significantly higher expression of CHRNA9. We observed a strong positive correlation between PD-L1/DRD2, PD-L1/CHRNA5, and CHRNA5/CHRNA7 and a weak positive correlation between DRD2/CHRNA5 and DRD2/CHRNA7. Older age was independently associated with poor OS, whereas lower CHRNA7 expression was independently associated with better OS. Conclusions We observed strong positive correlations among PD-L1, DRD2, and some of the nAChRs. We investigated their prognostic significance in lung cancer patients and found CHRNA7 to be an independent prognostic factor. Overall, the results obtained from this preliminary study warrant a large cohort-based analysis that may ultimately lead to potential patient-specific stratification biomarkers predicting cancer-treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishnendu Pal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
| | - Tabish Hussain
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine Unit, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Mathura Road, New Delhi, India
| | - Hao Xie
- Division of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Shenduo Li
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
| | - Ping Yang
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - Aaron Mansfield
- Division of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Yanyan Lou
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
| | - Shantanu Chowdhury
- Integrative and Functional Biology Unit, CSIR- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India
| | - Debabrata Mukhopadhyay
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
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OPALS: A New Osimertinib Adjunctive Treatment of Lung Adenocarcinoma or Glioblastoma Using Five Repurposed Drugs. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051148. [PMID: 34068720 PMCID: PMC8151869 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Pharmacological targeting aberrant activation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase signaling is an established approach to treating lung adenocarcinoma. Osimertinib is a tyrosine kinase approved and effective in treating lung adenocarcinomas that have one of several common activating mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor. The emergence of resistance to osimertinib after a year or two is the rule. We developed a five-drug adjuvant regimen designed to increase osimertinib’s growth inhibition and thereby delay the development of resistance. Areas of Uncertainty: Although the assembled preclinical data is strong, preclinical data and the following clinical trial results can be discrepant. The safety of OPALS drugs when used individually is excellent. We have no data from humans on their tolerability when used as an ensemble. That there is no data from the individual drugs to suspect problematic interaction does not exclude the possibility. Data Sources: All relevant PubMed.org articles on the OPALS drugs and corresponding pathophysiology of lung adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma were reviewed. Therapeutic Opinion: The five drugs of OPALS are in wide use in general medicine for non-oncology indications. OPALS uses the anti-protozoal drug pyrimethamine, the antihistamine cyproheptadine, the antibiotic azithromycin, the antihistamine loratadine, and the potassium sparing diuretic spironolactone. We show how these inexpensive and generically available drugs intersect with and inhibit lung adenocarcinoma growth drive. We also review data showing that both OPALS adjuvant drugs and osimertinib have data showing they may be active in suppressing glioblastoma growth.
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Fang X, Liu X, Weng C, Wu Y, Li B, Mao H, Guan M, Lu L, Liu G. Construction and Validation of a Protein Prognostic Model for Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Int J Med Sci 2020; 17:2718-2727. [PMID: 33162799 PMCID: PMC7645351 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.47224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSCC), as the major type of lung cancer, has high morbidity and mortality rates. The prognostic markers for LUSCC are much fewer than lung adenocarcinoma. Besides, protein biomarkers have advantages of economy, accuracy and stability. The aim of this study was to construct a protein prognostic model for LUSCC. The protein expression data of LUSCC were downloaded from The Cancer Protein Atlas (TCPA) database. Clinical data of LUSCC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. A total of 237 proteins were identified from 325 cases of LUSCC patients based on the TCPA and TCGA database. According to Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox analysis, a prognostic prediction model was established which was consisted of 6 proteins (CHK1_pS345, CHK2, IRS1, PAXILLIN, BRCA2 and BRAF_pS445). After calculating the risk values of each patient according to the coefficient of each protein in the risk model, the LUSCC patients were divided into high risk group and low risk group. The survival analysis demonstrated that there was significant difference between these two groups (p= 4.877e-05). The area under the curve (AUC) value of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.699, which suggesting that the prognostic risk model could effectively predict the survival of LUSCC patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that this prognostic model could be used as independent prognosis factors for LUSCC patients. Proteins co-expression analysis showed that there were 21 proteins co-expressed with the proteins in the risk model. In conclusion, our study constructed a protein prognostic model, which could effectively predict the prognosis of LUSCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xisheng Fang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Xia Liu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Chengyin Weng
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Yong Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Baoxiu Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Haibo Mao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Mingmei Guan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Lin Lu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
| | - Guolong Liu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180.,Department of Medical Oncology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510180
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Cheng WL, Chen KY, Lee KY, Feng PH, Wu SM. Nicotinic-nAChR signaling mediates drug resistance in lung cancer. J Cancer 2020; 11:1125-1140. [PMID: 31956359 PMCID: PMC6959074 DOI: 10.7150/jca.36359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Cigarette smoking is the most common risk factor for lung carcinoma; other risks include genetic factors and exposure to radon gas, asbestos, secondhand smoke, and air pollution. Nicotine, the primary addictive constituent of cigarettes, contributes to cancer progression through activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are membrane ligand-gated ion channels. Activation of nicotine/nAChR signaling is associated with lung cancer risk and drug resistance. We focused on nAChR pathways activated by nicotine and its downstream signaling involved in regulating apoptotic factors of mitochondria and drug resistance in lung cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that several sirtuins play a critical role in multiple aspects of cancer drug resistance. Thus, understanding the consequences of crosstalk between nicotine/nAChRs and sirtuin signaling pathways in the regulation of drug resistance could be a critical implication for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Li Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Yuan Chen
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan
| | - Kang-Yun Lee
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan.,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Po-Hao Feng
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan.,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Ming Wu
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan.,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
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Abstract
Ion channels are a major class of membrane proteins that play central roles in signaling within and among cells, as well as in the coupling of extracellular events with cellular responses. Dysregulated ion channel activity plays a causative role in many diseases including cancer. Here, we will review their role in lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers, and it causes the highest number of deaths of all cancer types. The overall 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients is only 19% and decreases to 5% when patients are diagnosed with stage IV. Thus, new therapeutical strategies are urgently needed. The important contribution of ion channels to the progression of various types of cancer has been firmly established so that ion channel-based therapeutic concepts are currently developed. Thus far, the knowledge on ion channel function in lung cancer is still relatively limited. However, the published studies clearly show the impact of ion channel inhibitors on a number of cellular mechanisms underlying lung cancer cell aggressiveness such as proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle progression, or adhesion. Additionally, in vivo experiments reveal that ion channel inhibitors diminish tumor growth in mice. Furthermore, some studies give evidence that ion channel inhibitors can have an influence on the resistance or sensitivity of lung cancer cells to common chemotherapeutics such as paclitaxel or cisplatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etmar Bulk
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
| | | | - Albrecht Schwab
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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