Voltage-gated K+ channel activity in human prostate cancer cell lines of markedly different metastatic potential: Distinguishing characteristics of PC-3 and LNCaP cells
✍ Scribed by Marc E. Laniado; Scott P. Fraser; Mustafa B.A. Djamgoz
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2001
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 415 KB
- Volume
- 46
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0270-4137
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✦ Synopsis
BACKGROUND.
Although ion channels are known to contribute to a variety of basic cellular behaviors involved in the metastatic cascade, their role in metastasis per se has only recently been questioned. The hypothesis tested was whether K channels were different between strongly metastatic PC-3 and weakly metastatic LNCaP human prostate cancer cell lines. METHODS. The whole-cell con®guration of the patch clamp recording technique was used to record voltage-gated currents from LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines. The responses to different voltage-clamp protocols, sensitivity to external Ca 2 , and addition of drugs and toxins were explored. RESULTS. Voltage-gated K current density was signi®cantly larger in LNCaP than PC-3 cells. In addition, the K currents in a sub-population of PC-3 cells were Ca 2 -sensitive. These properties re¯ected the differential metastatic character of the cells, the PC-3 cells appearing potentially more ``excitable''. CONCLUSIONS. Prostate cancer cells of varying metastatic ability can be distinguished by their ion channel characteristics. The possible contribution(s) of K channel activity to development of malignancy needs exploration.