Publications by authors named "Sana Kouba"

Alterations in cellular calcium (Ca) signals have been causally associated with the development and progression of human cancers. Cellular Ca signals are generated by channels, pumps, and exchangers that move Ca ions across membranes and are decoded by effector proteins in the cytosol or in organelles. S-acylation, the reversible addition of 16-carbon fatty acids to proteins, modulates the activity of Ca transporters by altering their affinity for lipids, and enzymes mediating this reversible post-translational modification have also been linked to several types of cancers.

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Calcium (Ca2+) regulates a multitude of cellular processes during fertilization and throughout adult life by acting as an intracellular messenger to control effector functions in excitable and non-excitable cells. Changes in intracellular Ca2+ levels are driven by the co-ordinated action of Ca2+ channels, pumps, and exchangers, and the resulting signals are shaped and decoded by Ca2+-binding proteins to drive rapid and long-term cellular processes ranging from neurotransmission and cardiac contraction to gene transcription and cell death. S-acylation, a lipid post-translational modification, is emerging as a critical regulator of several important Ca2+-handling proteins.

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Prostate cancer (PCa) represents one of the most frequent diagnosed cancer in males worldwide. Due to routine screening tests and the efficiency of available treatments, PCa-related deaths have significantly decreased over the past decades. However, PCa remains a critical threat if detected at a late stage in which, cancer cells would have already detached from the primary tumor to spread and invade other parts of the body.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies, with a low overall survival rate of less than 10% and limited therapeutic options. Fluctuations in tumor microenvironment pH are a hallmark of PDAC development and progression. Many ion channels are bona fide cellular sensors of changes in pH.

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In the fight against cancer, therapeutic strategies using cisplatin are severely limited by the appearance of a resistant phenotype. While cisplatin is usually efficient at the beginning of the treatment, several patients endure resistance to this agent and face relapse. One of the reasons for this resistant phenotype is the emergence of a cell subpopulation known as cancer stem cells (CSCs).

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Dysregulation of the transient receptor canonical ion channel (TRPC1) has been found in several cancer types, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms through which TRPC1 impacts pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell proliferation are incompletely understood. Here, we found that TRPC1 is upregulated in human PDAC tissue compared to adjacent pancreatic tissue and this higher expression correlates with low overall survival. TRPC1 is, as well, upregulated in the aggressive PDAC cell line PANC-1, compared to a duct-like cell line, and its knockdown (KD) reduced cell proliferation along with PANC-1 3D spheroid growth by arresting cells in the G1/S phase whilst decreasing cyclin A, CDK2, CDK6, and increasing p21 expression.

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The data generated here in relates to the research article "CaV1.3 enhanced store operated calcium promotes resistance to androgen deprivation in prostate cancer". A model of prostate cancer (PCa) progression to castration resistance was employed, with untreated androgen sensitive LNCaP cell line alongside two androgen deprived (bicalutamide) sublines, either 10 days (LNCaP-ADT) or 2 years (LNCaP-ABL) treatment, in addition to androgen insensitive PC3.

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Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the main treatment for advanced prostate cancer (PCa) but resistance results in progression to terminal castrate resistant PCa (CRPC), where there is an unmet therapeutic need. Aberrant intracellular calcium (Ca) is known to promote neoplastic transformation and treatment resistance. There is growing evidence that voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) expression is increased in cancer, particularly CACNA1D/CaV1.

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Orai3 calcium (Ca) channels are implicated in multiple breast cancer processes, such as proliferation and survival as well as resistance to chemotherapy. However, their involvement in the breast cancer cell migration processes remains vague. In the present study, we exploited MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-231 BrM2 basal-like estrogen receptor-negative (ER) cell lines to assess the direct role of Orai3 in cell migration.

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Article Synopsis
  • The TRPV2 channel is a calcium-selective ion channel activated by lipids like LysoPhosphatidylCholine (LPC), with potential implications for cancer treatments.
  • Researchers studied a new alkyl-ether-lipid, AD-HGPC, to understand its effects on TRPV2 channel trafficking and its role in calcium-dependent migration of breast cancer cells.
  • Findings indicate that AD-HGPC enhances TRPV2 activity, promoting calcium entry and cell migration through specific cellular pathways, suggesting a new direction for therapeutic strategies targeting metastatic cancer.
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The development of the resistance to platinum salts is a major obstacle in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Among the reasons underlying this resistance is the enrichment of cancer stem cells (CSCs) populations. Several studies have reported the involvement of calcium channels in chemoresistance.

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Hypoxia is a well-established feature of prostate cancer (PCa) and is associated with disease aggressiveness. The hypoxic microenvironment initiates multiple adaptive responses including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and a remodeling of calcium homeostasis involved in cancer progression. In the present study, we identified a new hypoxia signaling pathway with a positive feedback loop between the EMT transcription factor Zeb1 and SK3, a Ca-activated K+ channel, which leads to amplifying store-operated Ca entry.

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Ether lipids (ELs) are lipids characterized by the presence of either an ether linkage (alkyl lipids) or a vinyl ether linkage [i.e., plasmalogens (Pls)] at the 1 position of the glycerol backbone, and they are enriched in PUFAs at the 2 position.

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Calcium (Ca) uptake into the mitochondria shapes cellular Ca signals and acts as a key effector for ATP generation. In addition, mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (mROS), produced as a consequence of ATP synthesis at the electron transport chain (ETC), modulate cellular signaling pathways that contribute to many cellular processes. Cancer cells modulate mitochondrial Ca ([Ca]m) homeostasis by altering the expression and function of mitochondrial Ca channels and transporters required for the uptake and extrusion of mitochondrial Ca.

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Small Conductance Calcium (Ca)-activated potassium (K) channels (SKCa) are now proved to be involved in many cancer cell behaviors such as proliferation or migration. The SK3 channel isoform was particularly described in breast cancer where it can be associated with the Orai1 Ca channel to form a complex that regulates the Ca homeostasis during tumor development and acts as a potent mediator of bone metastases development in vivo. Until now, very few specific blockers of Orai1 and/or SK3 have been developed as potential anti-metastatic compounds.

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Epithelial Ovarian cancer (EOC) is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy and represents the fifth leading cause of all cancer-related deaths in women. The majority of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease that has spread beyond the ovaries to the peritoneum or to distant organs (stage FIGO III-IV) with a 5-year overall survival of about 29%. Consequently, it is necessary to understand the pathogenesis of this disease.

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