“Gates of Heaven” Calcium Channel Drives Oral Cancer Pain and Growth
An essential protein that acts as a gatekeeper for calcium entering cells promotes the growth of oral cancer and generates pain, according to a new study published in Science Signaling led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry.
Targeting this protein—the ORAI1 calcium channel—could provide a new approach to treating oral cancer, which causes persistent pain that worsens as it progresses.
“Our results show that the ORAI1 channel fuels the growth of oral cancer tumors and produces an abundance of molecules that, once secreted, interact with neurons resulting in an increased sensitivity to pain,” said Ga-Yeon Son, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study’s first author.
The keepers of the gates of heavenORAI calcium channels—named after the three sisters in Greek mythology who guarded the gates of heaven at Mount Olympus—play an important role controlling how much calcium enters cells.
“These calcium channels can be a source of good or bad for cells,” said Rodrigo Lacruz, professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study’s senior author.
An essential protein that acts as a gatekeeper for calcium entering cells promotes the growth of oral cancer and generates pain, according to a new study published in Science Signaling led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry.
Targeting this protein—the ORAI1 calcium channel—could provide a new approach to treating oral cancer, which causes persistent pain that worsens as it progresses.
“Our results show that the ORAI1 channel fuels the growth of oral cancer tumors and produces an abundance of molecules that, once secreted, interact with neurons resulting in an increased sensitivity to pain,” said Ga-Yeon Son, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study’s first author.
The keepers of the gates of heaven
ORAI calcium channels—named after the three sisters in Greek mythology who guarded the gates of heaven at Mount Olympus—play an important role controlling how much calcium enters cells.
“These calcium channels can be a source of good or bad for cells,” said Rodrigo Lacruz, professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study’s senior author.
