Photo by National Cancer Institute/ Unsplash
Can calcium be used to destroy cancer cells? Scientists from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, say yes.
Their research shows that activating calcium channels leads to a deadly influx of calcium ions into tumor cells.
Calcium is an essential mineral for humans and many other organisms. It is the most abundant mineral in the human body, and it is necessary for the development and maintenance of strong bones and teeth. Calcium also plays a role in muscle function, nerve transmission, and blood clotting.
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The relationship between calcium and cancer is complex and multifaceted. Some studies suggest that high calcium intake might be associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, like prostate cancer, while others haven’t found a clear connection.
Oncology dietitian Dianne Kelecy from the Dartmouth Cancer Center said, “Sometimes there are high blood calcium levels when cancer is present. There are two main reasons for this: If cancer has already spread to the bones, it’s causing a release of calcium into the blood. The tumor can also create a hormone that interferes with normal calcium levels.”
“Elevated blood calcium levels are seen in 20–30% of cancer patients, most commonly myeloma,” she explained. “But we also see it most often in breast, lung, kidney and prostate cancers. In the presentation, we’ll go over some symptoms a person with high calcium might feel.”
Calcium ions are essential for cells, but can be toxic in higher concentrations. The team of Korean researchers designed and prepared a combination drug that kills tumor cells by modulating the calcium influx into the cell. An external calcium source is not necessary because only the calcium ions already present in the tumor tissue are used, according to the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
Biological cells need calcium ions, among other things, for the proper functioning of the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells. However, if there is too much calcium, the mitochondrial processes become unbalanced and the cell suffocates. A research group led by Juyoung Yoon of Ewha Womens University in Seoul, South Korea, together with teams from China, has now taken advantage of this process and developed a synergistic antitumor drug that can open calcium channels and thus trigger a deadly calcium storm inside the tumor cell.
The researchers targeted two channels, the first one in the outer membrane, and the other was a calcium channel in the endoplasmic reticulum, a cell organelle that also stores calcium ions. The channel located in the outer membrane opens when it is exposed to a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), while the channel in the endoplasmic reticulum is activated by nitric oxide molecules.
