Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 May 3;3(3):297-301.
doi: 10.21873/cdp.10215. eCollection 2023 May-Jun.

Calpain-mediated Mechanoptosis in Breast Adenocarcinoma

Georgios I Metaxas  1 , Despoina Spyropoulou  2 , Sofianiki Mastronikoli  3 , Evangelos Tsiambas  4 , Evangelos Falidas  5 , Spyridon Marinopoulos  1 , Loukas Manaios  6 , Dimitrios Davris  5 , Panagiotis Fotiades  7 , Dimitrios Peschos  8 , Constantine Dimitrakakis  1
Affiliations
Review

Calpain-mediated Mechanoptosis in Breast Adenocarcinoma

Georgios I Metaxas et al. Cancer Diagn Progn. .

Abstract

Calpains belong to a family of important calcium-dependent cysteine proteases. They are involved in intracellular processes including cytoskeleton disorganization and substrate proteolysis. They also enhance apoptosis and cell to cell adhesion. Calpains demonstrate also a mechanosensory function in neoplastic and malignant cells due to their implication in mechanoptosis. This is a specific type of apoptotic death induced by strong external mechanical stimuli. Anti-cytoskeleton rigidity inhibition strategies based on calpain induction lead to increased apoptosis of tumor transformed cells. Elevated intracellular calcium concentration mediated by specific receptors and channels activates calpains. In the current molecular review, we explored the role of calpains in calcium-dependent signa transduction pathways in breast adenocarcinoma in conjunction with novel agents that activate their important anti-tumor functions.

Keywords: Calpain; apoptosis; breast adenocarcinoma; mechanoptosis; review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare in relation to this study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic presentation of calpain-mediated mechanoptosis. Calpains demonstrate a mechanosensory function in neoplastic and malignant cells due to their implication in mechanoptosis. Ca++ ions activate calpains leading to cell death. Calpastatin and calpeptin are the main calpain inhibitors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ozaki T, Tomita H, Tamai M, Ishiguro S. Characteristics of mitochondrial calpains. J Biochem. 2007;142(3):365–376. doi: 10.1093/jb/mvm143. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Csordás G, Weaver D, Hajnóczky G. Endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contactology: Structure and signaling functions. Trends Cell Biol. 2018;28(7):523–540. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2018.02.009. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kar P, Samanta K, Shaikh S, Chowdhury A, Chakraborti T, Chakraborti S. Mitochondrial calpain system: an overview. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2010;495(1):1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2009.12.020. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Huang J, Zhu X. The molecular mechanisms of calpains action on skeletal muscle atrophy. Physiol Res. 2016;65(4):547–560. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.933087. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ono Y, Saido TC, Sorimachi H. Calpain research for drug discovery: challenges and potential. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2016;15(12):854–876. doi: 10.1038/nrd.2016.212. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources