Cancer-Specific Therapy by Artificial Modulation of Intracellular Calcium Concentration.

Calcium (Ca ) hemeostasis is crucial for the normal function of cellular biochemistry. The abnormal frequency of Ca signaling in cancer cells makes them more vulnerable to Ca modulation than normal cells. Here in this study, a novel cancer-specific therapy by artificially triggering Ca overload in cancer cells is proposed. The feasibility of this therapy is illustrated by successful coupling of selective extrusion (Ca ) inhibition effect of Curcumin (Cur) and the effective Ca generating capability of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) into a facilely prepared water responsive phospholipid (PL)-ACC hybrid platform (PL/ACC-Cur). The obtained results demonstrate that PL/ACC-Cur can specifically boost the intracellular Ca concentration to cause Ca overload and to trigger mitochondria-related apoptosis in MCF-7 cells while sparing normal hepatocyte (L02), which might be a promising approach for effective cancer therapy.