Cao Xinyu, Yan Liang, Hong Liang
Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Biochem Biophys Rep. 2025 Apr 3;42:101990. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2025.101990. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Cancer is characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells, driven by genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Genetic mutations contribute to hallmark processes of cancer progression such as sustained proliferation, apoptosis resistance, and immune evasion. Ion channels are pore-forming transmembrane proteins that regulate ion transport across cellular membranes, influencing various cellular functions. Recent studies have indicated the emerging roles of ion channel proteins in cancer. Ion channels are critical for cellular processes like proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and angiogenesis, and dysregulation of ion channels by genetic mutations disrupts these processes, enabling tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Ion channel gene mutations have been associated with various cancer subtypes. These ion channel mutations either dysregulate ion channel activity associated with intracellular signaling pathways in cell survival and division, or influence the tumor microenvironment by modifying pH, oxygenation, or ion concentrations, which might facilitate tumor growth and gene expression and contribute to oncogenesis. In the present review, we discuss ion channel regulation of cancer biology and summarize recent studies in ion channel mutations associated with cancer.
癌症的特征是异常细胞不受控制地生长和扩散，这是由遗传、环境和生活方式因素驱动的。基因突变促成了癌症进展的标志性过程，如持续增殖、抗凋亡和免疫逃逸。离子通道是形成孔道的跨膜蛋白，可调节离子跨细胞膜的运输，影响各种细胞功能。最近的研究表明离子通道蛋白在癌症中发挥着新出现的作用。离子通道对于细胞增殖、凋亡、迁移和血管生成等细胞过程至关重要，基因突变导致的离子通道失调会破坏这些过程，从而促进肿瘤生长、侵袭和转移。离子通道基因突变与多种癌症亚型相关。这些离子通道突变要么使与细胞存活和分裂中的细胞内信号通路相关的离子通道活性失调，要么通过改变pH值、氧合或离子浓度来影响肿瘤微环境，这可能会促进肿瘤生长和基因表达，并有助于肿瘤发生。在本综述中，我们讨论了离子通道对癌症生物学的调节作用，并总结了最近关于与癌症相关的离子通道突变的研究。
