Cadmium (Cd) is a metallic pollutant which has been classified as a possible pancreatic carcinogen. Cd uses similar ion channels than divalent cations to accumulate into the cells. These include the Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily M Member 7 (TRPM7) which has been also shown as a biomarker of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic carcinogenesis is associated with the establishment of a fibrous stroma induced by pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) activation. Although several stress factors have been identified as activators of PSCs, the impact of pollutants, particularly Cd, is still unknown. Here, we chronically exposed human PSCs to Cd and we observed that Cd-exposed cells acquired a myofibroblast-like phenotype. Moreover, TRPM7 expression and activity were upregulated following Cd exposure. Both TRPM7 inhibition by silencing or NS8593 treatment prevented the Cd-induced PSC cell migration indicating that TRPM7 regulated PSC activation. We used a model of indirect co-culture to study the impact of PSC on MIA PaCa-2 cancer cell migration. Interestingly, we showed that Cd-exposed PSCs stimulated MIA PaCa-2 cancer cell migration to a greater extent than non-exposed PSCs. TRPM7 inhibition in PSCs abolished the migration of cancer cells. Finally, in a mouse model with the KRASG12D mutation inducing spontaneous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia, Cd exposure aggravates collagen deposition in fibrotic areas showing high α-SMA and TRPM7 expressions. In summary, our study showed that Cd exposure upregulates TRPM7 leading to PSC activation and aggravation of precancerous pancreatic fibrosis in vivo.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the main and the deadliest form of pancreatic cancer. This is a major problem of public health since it will become the second leading cause of death by cancer in the next few years, mainly due to the lack of efficient therapies. Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily M Member 7 (TRPM7) protein, a cation channel fused with a serine/threonine kinase domain is overexpressed in PDAC and associated with a low survival. In this work, we aim to study the role of kinase domain on pancreatic cell fates by using a model of kinase domain deletion by CRISPR-Cas9. PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 PDAC cell lines were used and kinase domain was deleted by CRISPR-Cas9 strategy. Kinase domain deletion (ΔK) was validated by RT-qPCR and western-blots. The effect of kinase domain deletion on channel function was studied by patch-clamp and Mn2+-quenching. The cell phenotype was studied by MTT and cell migration/invasion assays. Finally, the role of kinase domain was studied in vivo in xenografted mice. Here we show that TRPM7 kinase domain is required to maintain a mesenchymal phenotype in PDAC cells. We also demonstrated that TRPM7 and PAK1 interact in the same protein complexes. Moreover, TRPM7 kinase domain is required for carcinogenesis and cancer cell dissemination in vivo. Intriguingly, the role of TRPM7 kinase is cell specific and may depend on the KRAS oncogene mutation status. In conclusion, TRPM7 kinase domain is required to maintain a mesenchymal and aggressive phenotype in PDAC cells, and it could be a promising target against PDAC.

Quiescent pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) represent only a very low proportion of the pancreatic tissue, but their activation leads to stroma remodeling and fibrosis associated with pathologies such as chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PSC activation can be induced by various stresses, including acidosis, growth factors (PDGF, TGFβ), hypoxia, high pressure, or intercellular communication with pancreatic cancer cells. Activated PSC targeting represents a promising therapeutic strategy, but little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation of PSCs. Identification of new biomarkers of PSC activation associated with desmoplasia in chronic pancreatitis and PDAC could lead to new therapeutic targets for exocrine pancreatic disease treatments. Ion channels and transporters are transmembrane proteins involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes, including PDAC. They are well known to act as biosensors of the tissue microenvironment, and they can be easily accessible for drugs. However, their role in PSC activation is not fully understood. In this review, we briefly discuss the role of activated PSCs in pancreas inflammation and pathological fibrosis (associated with chronic pancreatitis and PDAC), and we describe the role of specific ion channels and transporters (Ca2+, K+, Na+ and Cl-) in these processes in the light of recent literature.

Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 7 (TRPM7) is a dual function protein comprising a non-selective cation channel and an atypical kinase domain. TRPM7 has been involved in many diseases including malignancies. Indeed, TRPM7 is proposed as a promising target for therapeutical drug design. Numerous studies have shown that TRPM7 interacts with proteins involved in regulating intracellular signaling. Therefore, a better understanding of the TRPM7 interactome would provide insight into pathophysiological mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels. It could also open up new therapeutic avenues for molecules targeting either the proteins of interest directly or protein-protein interactions.In the first part of this work, we present the interaction partners described in the literature for TRPM7 and their potential impacts on cell biology. In the second part of the manuscript, we use public databases and protein interaction modeling tools to characterize the TRPM7 interactome. In particular, the analysis of the TRPM7 interactome using experimental data (BioGRID) and modeling tools (ProteinPrompt) has allowed us to isolate 19 genes of interest mainly related to small GTPase pathways involved in digestive neoplasia such as colorectal and pancreatic cancers.In summary, we provide an extended overview of potential TRPM7 interactors which need to be validated in cellular models. This will provide crucial insights into the molecular mechanisms at the tumor cell membrane, helping us to propose new therapeutic targets for precision medicine.

Scorpion α-toxins are neurotoxins that target the fast inactivation mechanism of voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels leading to several neuro- and cardiotoxic effects in mammals. The toxin AahII is the most active α-toxin from the North African scorpion Androctonus australis Hector that slows the fast inactivation of NaV channels. To fight scorpion envenomation, an anti-AahII nanobody named NbAahII10 (Nb10) was developed. The efficiency of this nanobody has been evaluated in vivo on mice, but its mechanism of action at the cellular level remains unknown. Here we have shown that AahII toxin slows the fast inactivation of the adult cardiac NaV1.5 channels, expressed in HEK293 cells, in a dose-dependent manner, while current amplitude was not affected. The inactivation of NaV1.5 is slower by a factor of 4, 7, and 35 in the presence of [AahII] at 75, 150, and 300 nM, respectively. The washout partially reversed the toxin effect on inactivation from 8.3 ± 0.9 ms to 5.2 ± 1.2 ms at 75 nM. We have also demonstrated that the highly neutralizing Nb10 can fully reverse the effect of AahII toxin on the channel inactivation kinetics even at the 1:1 M ratio. However, the 1:0.5 M ratio is not able to neutralize completely the AahII effect. Therefore, the application of Nb10 promotes a partial abolishment of AahII action. Bioinformatic analysis and prediction of NaV1.5-driven docking with AahII show that Ala39 and Arg62 of AahII play a crucial role to establish a stable interaction through H-bound interactions with Gln1615 and Lys1616 (S3–S4 extracellular loop) and Asp1553 (S1–S2 loop) from the voltage-sensing domain IV (VSD4) of NaV1.5, respectively. From this, we notice that AahII shares the same contact surface with Nb10. This strongly suggests that Nb10 dynamically replaces AahII toxin from its binding site on the NaV1.5 channel. At the physiopathological level, Nb10 completely neutralized the enhancement of breast cancer cell invasion induced by AahII. In summary, for the first time, we made an electrophysiological and structural characterization of the neutralization potent of Nb10 against the α-scorpion toxin AahII in a cellular model overexpressing NaV1.5 channels.

Pancreatic diseases, such as pancreatitis or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, are characterized by the presence of activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). These cells represent key actors in the tumor stroma, as they actively participate in disease development and progression: reprograming these PSCs into a quiescent phenotype has even been proposed as a promising strategy for restoring the hallmarks of a healthy pancreas. Since TRPM7 channels have been shown to regulate hepatic stellate cells proliferation and survival, we aimed to study the role of these magnesium channels in PSC activation and proliferation. PS-1 cells (isolated from a healthy pancreas) were used as a model of healthy PSCs: quiescence or activation were induced using all-trans retinoic acid or conditioned media of pancreatic cancer cells, respectively. The role of TRPM7 was studied by RNA silencing or by pharmacological inhibition. TRPM7 expression was found to be correlated with the activation status of PS-1 cells. TRPM7 expression was able to regulate proliferation through modulation of cell cycle regulators and most importantly p53, via the PI3K/Akt pathway, in a magnesium-dependent manner. Finally, the analysis of TCGA database showed the overexpression of TRPM7 in cancer-associated fibroblasts. Taken together, we provide strong evidences that TRPM7 can be considered as a marker of activated PSCs.

The aim of this study was to characterize the functional expression of sodium-calcium exchangers on AFT024 cell line, a murine model of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) supporting human primitive hematopoiesis. All current-clamp and voltage-clamp experiments were performed using the perforated patch whole-cell recording technique with amphotericin B. The membrane potential of -14 mV shifted to -35 mV when lowering the external sodium concentration to 0.33 mM and an increase of cytosolic calcium concentration was observed. KB-R7943, a selective blocker of cardiac sodium-calcium exchangers, also named NCX1, induced a hyperpolarization at physiological sodium concentration while it blocked the hyperpolarization observed at low sodium concentration. This demonstrates for the first time the presence of the sodium-calcium exchangers in AFT024 cells and provides initial evidence that the membrane potential of these stromal cells is maintained depolarized by this exchanger. Lowering external sodium concentration and KB-R7943 had no effect on the membrane potential of 2018 cells, a nonhematopoietic-supportive cell line. Since NCX1 is differentially expressed in AFT024 cells as compared with nonhematopoietic supportive cells with more restricted differentiation potential, this study suggests a potential role of this sodium-calcium exchanger, in the differentiation process or hematopoietic support of MSCs.

Activated pancreatic stellate cells (aPSCs), the crucial mediator of pancreatic desmoplasia, are characterized, among others, by high proliferative potential and abundant transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) secretion. Over the past years, the involvement of Ca2+ channels in PSC pathophysiology has attracted great interest in pancreatic cancer research. We, thus, aimed to investigate the role of the Orai1 Ca2+ channel in these two PSC activation processes. Using the siRNA approach, we invalided Orai1 expression and assessed the channel functionality by Ca2+ imaging, the effect on aPSC proliferation, and TGFβ1 secretion. We demonstrated the functional expression of the Orai1 channel in human aPSCs and its implication in the store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE). Orai1 silencing led to a decrease in aPSC proliferation, TGFβ1 secretion, and AKT activation. Interestingly, TGFβ1 induced a higher SOCE response by increasing Orai1 mRNAs and proteins and promoted both AKT phosphorylation and cell proliferation, abolished by Orai1 silencing. Together, our results highlight the role of Orai1-mediated Ca2+ entry in human aPSC pathophysiology by controlling cell proliferation and TGFβ1 secretion through the AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, we showed a TGFβ1-induced autocrine positive feedback loop by promoting the Orai1/AKT-dependent proliferation via the stimulation of Orai1 expression and function.

Despite magnesium (Mg2+) representing the second most abundant cation in the cell, its role in cellular physiology and pathology is far from being elucidated. Mg2+ homeostasis is regulated by Mg2+ transporters including Mitochondrial RNA Splicing Protein 2 (MRS2), Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily M, Member 6/7 (TRPM6/7), Magnesium Transporter 1 (MAGT1), Solute Carrier Family 41 Member 1 (SCL41A1), and Cyclin and CBS Domain Divalent Metal Cation Transport Mediator (CNNM) proteins. Recent data show that Mg2+ transporters may regulate several cancer cell hallmarks. In this review, we describe the expression of Mg2+ transporters in digestive cancers, the most common and deadliest malignancies worldwide. Moreover, Mg2+ transporters' expression, correlation and impact on patient overall and disease-free survival is analyzed using Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. Finally, we discuss the role of these Mg2+ transporters in the regulation of cancer cell fates and oncogenic signaling pathways.

Cadmium is a xenobiotic involved in neoplastic transformation. Cadmium enters the cells through divalent cation transporters including the Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin-related 7 (TRPM7) which is known to be involved in cancer cell fate. This work aimed to study the role of TRPM7 in neoplastic transformation induced by cadmium exposure in non-cancer epithelial cells. Non-cancer epithelial cells were chronically exposed to low-dose of cadmium. TRPM7 expression and function were studied by Western-Blot, Patch-Clamp and calcium and magnesium imaging. Finally, cell migration and invasion were studied by Boyden chamber assays. Chronic cadmium exposure induced TRPM7 overexpression and increased the membrane currents (P < 0.001). Cells exposed to cadmium had higher intracellular calcium and magnesium levels (P < 0.05). TRPM7 silencing restored calcium levels but strongly decreased intracellular magnesium concentration (P < 0.001). Moreover, cadmium exposure enhanced both cell migration and invasion, but TRPM7 silencing strongly decreased these features (P < 0.001). Furthermore, mammary epithelial cells exposed to cadmium became rounded and had less cell-to-cell junctions. Cadmium exposure decreased epithelial markers while the mesenchymal ones were increased. Importantly, TRPM7 silencing was able to reverse these phenotypic modifications (P < 0.05). To summarize, our data show that chronic cadmium exposure enhanced TRPM7 expression and activity in non-cancer epithelial cells. TRPM7 overexpression induced intracellular magnesium increase and stimulated cell migration and invasion. These neoplastic properties could be linked to a TRPM7-dependent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition reprogramming in cell exposed to cadmium. These findings provide new insights into the regulation of cell fates by cadmium exposure.

Mucins are commonly associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) that is a deadly disease because of the lack of early diagnosis and efficient therapies. There are 22 mucin genes encoding large O-glycoproteins divided into two major subgroups: membrane-bound and secreted mucins. We investigated mucin expression and their impact on patient survival in the PDAC dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (PAAD-TCGA). We observed a statistically significant increased messenger RNA (mRNA) relative level of most of the membrane-bound mucins (MUC1/3A/4/12/13/16/17/20), secreted mucins (MUC5AC/5B), and atypical mucins (MUC14/18) compared to normal pancreas. We show that MUC1/4/5B/14/17/20/21 mRNA levels are associated with poorer survival in the high-expression group compared to the low-expression group. Using unsupervised clustering analysis of mucin gene expression patterns, we identified two major clusters of patients. Cluster #1 harbors a higher expression of MUC15 and atypical MUC14/MUC18, whereas cluster #2 is characterized by a global overexpression of membrane-bound mucins (MUC1/4/16/17/20/21). Cluster #2 is associated with shorter overall survival. The patient stratification appears to be independent of usual clinical features (tumor stage, differentiation grade, lymph node invasion) suggesting that the pattern of membrane-bound mucin expression could be a new prognostic marker for PDAC patients.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignancy with a very poor prognosis due to highly metastatic profile. Cell migration is an essential step of the metastatic cascade allowing cancer cells to spread toward target tissues. Recent studies strongly suggest that bioactive elastin peptides, also named elastokines or elastin-derived peptides (EDPs), are released in the extracellular microenvironment during tumoral remodeling of the stroma. EDPs stimulate cancer cell migration by interacting with their membrane receptor, ribosomal protein SA (RPSA). Others membrane proteins like ion channels are also involved in cancer cell migration. It has been recently shown that the transient receptor potential melastatin-related 7 (TRPM7) channel regulates PDAC cell migration and invasion. The objective of this work was to study the effect of EDPs on TRPM7 channel in human pancreatic cancer cells. We showed that EDPs promote MIA PaCa-2 cell migration using Boyden chamber assay. Cells transfected with a siRNA targeting TRPM7 were not able to migrate in response to EDPs indicating that TRPM7 regulated cell migration induced by these peptides. Moreover, EDPs were able to stimulate TRPM7 currents recorded by Patch-Clamp. Finally, we showed that TRPM7 channels and RPSA receptors are colocalized at the plasma membrane of human pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, our data suggest that TRPM7/RPSA complex regulated human pancreatic cancer cell migration. This complex may be a promising therapeutic target in PDAC.

In the battle against cancer cells, therapeutic modalities are drastically limited by intrinsic or acquired drug resistance. Resistance to therapy is not only common, but expected: if systemic agents used for cancer treatment are usually active at the beginning of therapy (i.e., 90% of primary breast cancers and 50% of metastases), about 30% of patients with early-stage breast cancer will have recurrent disease. Altered expression of ion channels is now considered as one of the hallmarks of cancer, and several ion channels have been linked to cancer cell resistance. While ion channels have been associated with cell death, apoptosis and even chemoresistance since the late 80s, the molecular mechanisms linking ion channel expression and/or function with chemotherapy have mostly emerged in the last ten years. In this review, we will highlight the relationships between ion channels and resistance to chemotherapy, with a special emphasis on the underlying molecular mechanisms.

For twenty years, ion channels have been studied in cancer progression. Several information have been collected about their involvement in cancer cellular processes like cell proliferation, motility and their participation in tumour progression using in-vivo models. Tumour microenvironment is currently the focus of many researches and the highlighting of the relationship between cancer cells and surrounding elements, is expanding. One of the major physic-chemical parameter involved in tumour progression is the hypoxia conditions observed in solid cancer. Due to their position on the cell membrane, ion channels are good candidates to transduce or to be modulated by environmental modifications. Until now, few reports have been interested in the modification of ion channel activities or expression in this context, compared to other pathological situations such as ischemia reperfusion. The aim of our review is to summarize the current knowledge about the calcium and potassium channels properties in the context of hypoxia in tumours. This review could pave the way to orientate new studies around this exciting field to obtain new potential therapeutic approaches.

Elastin-derived peptides (EDPs) exert protumor activities by increasing tumor growth, migration and invasion. A number of studies have highlighted the potential of VGVAPG consensus sequence-derived elastin-like polypeptides whose physicochemical properties and biocompatibility are particularly suitable for in vivo applications, such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. However, among the EDPs, the influence of elastin-derived nonapeptides (xGxPGxGxG consensus sequence) remains unknown. Here, we show that the AGVPGLGVG elastin peptide (AG-9) present in domain-26 of tropoelastin is more conserved than the VGVAPG elastin peptide (VG-6) from domain-24 in mammals. The results demonstrate that the structural features of AG-9 and VG-6 peptides are similar. CD, NMR and FTIR spectroscopies show that AG-9 and VG-6 present the same conformation, which includes a mixture of random coils and β-turn structures. On the other hand, the supraorganization differs between peptides, as demonstrated by AFM. The VG-6 peptide gathers in spots, whereas the AG-9 peptide aggregates into short amyloid-like fibrils. An in vivo study showed that AG-9 peptides promote tumor progression to a greater extent than do VG-6 peptides. These results were confirmed by in vitro studies such as 2D and 3D proliferation assays, migration assays, adhesion assays, proteinase secretion studies and pseudotube formation assays to investigate angiogenesis. Our findings suggest the possibility that the AG-9 peptide present in patient sera may dramatically influence cancer progression and could be used in the design of new, innovative antitumor therapies.