Roles of calcium signaling in cancer metastasis to bone

• Main Authors: Tianying Xie (Author), Sitong Chen (Author), Jiang Hao (Author), Pengfei Wu (Author), Xuelian Gu (Author), Haifeng Wei (Author), Zhenxi Li (Author), Jianru Xiao (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Open Exploration Publishing Inc., 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.37349/etat.2022.00094; 2692-3114
• Keywords: bone metastasis; calcium; calcium channels; calcium-sensing receptor; calmodulin; Internal medicine; RC31-1245
• Source: Exploration of Targeted Anti-tumor Therapy, Vol 3, Iss 4, Pp 445-462 (2022)

Bone metastasis is a frequent complication for cancers and an important reason for the mortality in cancer patients. After surviving in bone, cancer cells can cause severe pain, life-threatening hypercalcemia, pathologic fractures, spinal cord compression, and even death. However, the underlying mechanisms of bone metastasis were not clear. The role of calcium (Ca2+) in cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion has been well established. Interestingly, emerging evidence indicates that Ca2+ signaling played a key role in bone metastasis, for it not only promotes cancer progression but also mediates osteoclasts and osteoblasts differentiation. Therefore, Ca2+ signaling has emerged as a novel therapeutical target for cancer bone metastasis treatments. Here, the role of Ca2+ channels and Ca2+-binding proteins including calmodulin and Ca2+-sensing receptor in bone metastasis, and the perspective of anti-cancer bone metastasis therapeutics via targeting the Ca2+ signaling pathway are summarized.