title: Role of calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) in tumorigenesis.
abstract: The extracellular Ca(2+)-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a robust promoter of differentiation in colonic epithelial cells and functions as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer. CaSR mediates its biologic effects through diverse mechanisms. Loss of CaSR expression activates a myriad of stem cell-like molecular features that drive and sustain the malignant and drug-resistant phenotypes of colon cancer. This CaSR-null phenotype, however, is not irreversible and induction of CaSR expression in CaSR-null cells promotes cell death mechanisms and restores drug sensitivity. The CaSR also functions as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer and promotes cellular sensitivity to cytotoxic drugs. BRCA1 and CaSR functions intersect in breast cancer cells, and CaSR activation can rescue breast cancer cells from the deleterious effect of BRCA1 mutations.
authors.affiliation: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology and Simmons Cancer Institute, Springfield, IL, USA. nsingh2@siumed.edu
authors.forename: Navneet
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Moltira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Promkan
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varani
authors.forename: Subhas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakrabarty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing; D002118:Calcium
keywords: CaSR; breast cancer; colon cancer; differentiation; drug resistance; tumor suppressor