Zawadzki A et al. - Human colon cancer cells express L-type calcium channels that mediate calcium influx and apoptosis, which warrants further studies to determine whether calcium channel blockers may promote colon cancer growth. Methods
Aim was to examine the potential expression and function of calcium channels in two human colon cancer cell lines
Both primary and commercially-available human colon cancer cell lines were used
The colon cancer cells were incubated with a calcium channel blocker (verapamil) and a calcium channel agonist (BayK 8644) at clinically relevant concs
L-type calcium channel mRNA was determined by RT-PCR
Intracellular calcium ion levels were measured with fluorometry and apoptosis with flow cytometry
Results
Both types of cells expressed L-type calcium channel mRNA, whereas the cells were negative for N-type and P-type channels
The selective calcium channel agonist (BayK 8644), dose-dependently increased intracellular calcium ion levels and the level of apoptosis in primary human colon cancer cells
Pretreatment with verapamil abolished calcium channel agonist-induced influx of calcium and apoptosis in these cells
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