Distinct regulation of cytoplasmic calcium signals and cell death pathways by different plasma membrane calcium ATPase isoforms in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

Plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) actively extrude Ca(2+) from the cell and are essential components in maintaining intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis. There are four PMCA isoforms (PMCA1-4), and alternative splicing of the PMCA genes creates a suite of calcium efflux pumps. The role of these different PMCA isoforms in the control of calcium-regulated cell death pathways and the significance of the expression of multiple isoforms of PMCA in the same cell type are not well understood. In these studies, we assessed the impact of PMCA1 and PMCA4 silencing on cytoplasmic free Ca(2+) signals and cell viability in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The PMCA1 isoform was the predominant regulator of global Ca(2+) signals in MDA-MB-231 cells. PMCA4 played only a minor role in the regulation of bulk cytosolic Ca(2+), which was more evident at higher Ca(2+) loads. Although PMCA1 or PMCA4 knockdown alone had no effect on MDA-MB-231 cell viability, silencing of these isoforms had distinct consequences on caspase-independent (ionomycin) and -dependent (ABT-263) cell death. PMCA1 knockdown augmented necrosis mediated by the Ca(2+) ionophore ionomycin, whereas apoptosis mediated by the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-263 was enhanced by PMCA4 silencing. PMCA4 silencing was also associated with an inhibition of NFκB nuclear translocation, and an NFκB inhibitor phenocopied the effects of PMCA4 silencing in promoting ABT-263-induced cell death. This study demonstrates distinct roles for PMCA1 and PMCA4 in the regulation of calcium signaling and cell death pathways despite the widespread distribution of these two isoforms. The targeting of some PMCA isoforms may enhance the effectiveness of therapies that act through the promotion of cell death pathways in cancer cells.

Abstract A30: Inhibition of PMCA4 as a strategy to increase the effectiveness of Bcl-2 inhibitor-mediated cell death in breast cancer cells

Intracellular calcium is a vital cell signaling molecule that can influence a myriad of important cellular functions, including those deregulated in the cancer cell. Consequently Ca2+ levels within the cell must be precisely controlled. Amongst the suite of proteins controlling calcium homeostasis are the plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs), which belong to a family of druggable proteins. PMCAs are pumps that reside on the plasma membrane and are responsible for the efflux of intracellular Ca2+ and thus are important in maintaining basal cellular calcium levels. Sustained increases in intracellular Ca2+ can be a trigger for cell death and agents that induce alterations in calcium signaling could be a strategy to restore the sensitivity of a cancer cell to death stimuli. The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of inhibiting two PMCA isoforms, PMCA1 and PMCA4, on the augmentation of cell death initiated by a Ca2+ionophore (ionomycin) and a Bcl-2 inhibitor (ABT-263) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Ionomycin represents a caspase-independent mechanism of cell death and ABT-263 enhances cell death via a caspase-dependent mechanism. PMCA1 and PMCA4 were inhibited using siRNA and the effect on cell death was measured by staining with Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide using high content imaging (ImageXpress). Intracellular Ca2+ was determined using a FLIPRTETRA with cells loaded with the calcium sensor Fluo4-AM. Inhibition of PMCA1 was associated with significant changes in global cytosolic free Ca2+ induced by purinergic receptor activation, whereas the same effect was not seen with PMCA4 inhibition. Consistent with effects on global calcium levels, ionomycin (3 μM)-induced cell death was significantly augmented by PMCA1 but not PMCA4 siRNA. However, ABT-263 (3 μM)-induced cell death was augmented only by inhibition of PMCA4, suggesting that PMCA4 siRNA-mediated inhibition of ABT-263 apoptosis is mediated through effects on local and/or specific calcium signaling processes. PMCA4 can alter the activity of calcium-dependent transcription factors in cardiac myocytes independent of global cytosolic calcium. In MDA-MB-231 cells, the effects of PMCA4 inhibition appear to be associated with alterations in the activity of NFkappaB. These results highlight the specificity of different isoforms of PMCA in the modulation of cell death pathways in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Inhibition of PMCA4 may be a viable adjuvant therapy when combined with Bcl-2 family inhibitors for the treatment of breast cancer.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A30.

Plasma membrane calcium ATPases and cancer

The plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) are vital regulators of basal Ca(2+) and shape the nature of intracellular free Ca(2+) transients after cellular stimuli and are thus regulators of a plethora of cellular processes. Studies spanning many years have identified that at least some cancers are associated with a remodeling of PMCA isoform expression. This alteration in Ca(2+) efflux capacity may have a variety of consequences including reduced sensitivity to apoptosis and increases in the responsiveness of cancer cells to proliferative stimuli. In this review we provide an overview of studies focused on PMCAs in the context of cancer. We discuss how the remodeling of PMCA expression could provide a survival and/or growth advantage to cancer cells, as well as the potential of pharmacological agents that target specific PMCA isoforms to be novel therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Plasma membrane calcium pumps and their emerging roles in cancer

Alterations in calcium signaling and/or the expression of calcium pumps and channels are an increasingly recognized property of some cancer cells. Alterations in the expression of plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA) isoforms have been reported in a variety of cancer types, including those of breast and colon, with some studies of cancer cell line differentiation identifying specific PMCA isoforms, which may be altered in some cancers. Some studies have also begun to assess levels of PMCA isoforms in clinical tumor samples and to address mechanisms of altered PMCA expression in cancers. Both increases and decreases in PMCA expression have been reported in different cancer types and in many cases these alterations are isoform specific. In this review, we provide an overview of studies investigating the expression of PMCA in cancer and discuss how both the overexpression and reduced expression of a PMCA isoform in a cancer cell could bestow a growth advantage, through augmenting responses to proliferative stimuli or reducing sensitivity to apoptosis.

Identification of a macromolecular inhibitor of in vitro lymphocyte proliferation in human seminal plasma as bound spermine

The excluded fraction from Sephadex G-25 separation of human seminal plasma has been found to suppress lymphocyte transformation and DNA synthesis [7]. We have shown that most of its in vitro activity is due to contamination by spermine which binds tenaciously to, and co-elutes with the protein.

Giant basal cell carcinoma

Whereas basal cell carcinoma usually is a slow-growing tumor of the head and neck region, we have observed, over a 20-year period, three large, unique basal cell tumors of the back that were distinctive and presented clinical and histologic problems in diagnosis. They commonly formed exophytic, vegetative, flesh-colored to red, sessile plaques up to 20 cm in diameter. Ulceration was the principal feature of a fourth tumor, which destroyed the skin of the entire lumbar area and invaded the muscle. Regional-node metastases from this tumor showed basal cell carcinoma. Histologically, all the primary lesions were adenoid basal cell carcinomas with mucinous stroma. Histochemistry in two cases demonstrated minimal respiratory enzymes and no special esterolytic or lysosomal enzymes. Surgery was curative in three of these cases of rare, giant variant of basal cell carcinoma of the skin.

UV protective effects of 5-fluorouracil and thymidine

We confirm the previously claimed protection by 5-fluorouracil against ultraviolet radiation on the skin. We conclude that such protection is the result of absorption of erythema producing light (wavelengths less than 320 nm). Previously reported absorption of 5-fluorouracil in the 260– to 280-nm range was determined at concentrations several thousandfold less than those tested by us and used clinically. Our absorption studies, carried out in the clinical concentration range, show that 5-fluorouracil absorbs light even into long wave ultraviolet (greater than 320 nm). Such absorption occurs to a lesser extent with thymidine and accounts for the greater clinical protection achieved with 5-fiuorouracil.