Calcium signals and potential therapy targets in ovarian cancer (Review)

Fengying Deng; Mengyu Fu; Chenxuan Zhao; Jiahui Lei; Ting Xu; Bingyu Ji; Hongmei Ding; Yueming Zhang; Jie Chen; Junlan Qiu; Qinqin Gao

doi:10.3892/ijo.2023.5573

Calcium signals and potential therapy targets in ovarian cancer (Review)

Int J Oncol. 2023 Nov;63(5):125. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2023.5573. Epub 2023 Sep 15.

Authors

Fengying Deng^#¹, Mengyu Fu^#¹, Chenxuan Zhao^#¹, Jiahui Lei¹, Ting Xu¹, Bingyu Ji¹, Hongmei Ding², Yueming Zhang³, Jie Chen¹, Junlan Qiu¹, Qinqin Gao¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Fetology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, P.R. China.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, P.R. China.
³ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Dushu Lake Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215100, P.R. China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a deadly disease. The poor prognosis and high lethality of OC are attributed to its high degrees of aggressiveness, resistance to chemotherapy and recurrence rates. Calcium ion (Ca²⁺) signaling has received attention in recent years, as it appears to form an essential part of various aspects of cancer pathophysiology and is a potential therapeutic target for OC treatment. Disruption of normal Ca²⁺ signaling pathways can induce changes in cell cycle progression, apoptosis, proliferation and migration and invasion, leading to the development of the malignant phenotype of tumors. In the present review, the main roles of ion channel/receptor/pump‑triggered Ca²⁺ signaling pathways located at the plasma membrane and organelle Ca²⁺ transport in OC are summarized. In addition, the potential of Ca²⁺ signaling as a novel target for the development of effective treatment strategies for OC was discussed. Furthering the understanding into the role of Ca²⁺ signaling in OC is expected to facilitated the identification of novel therapeutic targets and improved clinical outcomes for patients.

Keywords: Ca2+ signals; occurrence; ovarian cancer; prospects; therapy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aggression
Apoptosis
Calcium*
Female
Humans
Ovarian Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Signal Transduction

Substances

Calcium

Grants and funding

The present study was supported partly by the National Nature and Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 82271724, 81873841, 81741024 and 81401244), Ministry of Science and Technology (grant no. 2019YFA0802600), Suzhou City Wei Sheng Ren Cai program (grant no. GSWS2019029), General Programs of Jiangsu Commission of Health (grant no. M2021087) and Nature and Science Foundation of Jiangsu (grant no. BK20221243).