Current Topics in Membranes

Chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1) has emerged as a therapeutic target in various cancers. CLIC1 promotes cell cycle progression and cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal. Furthermore, CLIC1 is shown to play diverse roles in proliferation, cell volume regulation, tumour invasion, migration, and angiogenesis. In glioblastoma (GB), CLIC1 facilitates the G1/S phase transition and tightly regulates glioma stem-like cells (GSCs), a rare population of self-renewing CSCs with central roles in tumour resistance to therapy and tumour recurrence...

Sodium (Na+ ) concentration in solid tumours of different origin is highly dysregulated, and this corresponds to the aberrant expression of Na+ transporters. In particular, the α subunits of voltage gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) raise intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+ ]i ) in malignant cells, which influences the progression of solid tumours, predominantly driving cancer cells towards a more aggressive and metastatic phenotype. Conversely, re-expression of VGSC β subunits in cancer cells can either enhance tumour progression or promote anti-tumourigenic properties...

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav ) are protein complexes that play fundamental roles in the transmission of signals in the nervous system, at the neuromuscular junction and in the heart. They are mainly present in excitable cells where they are responsible for triggering action potentials. Dysfunctions in Nav ion conduction give rise to a wide range of conditions, including neurological disorders, hypertension, arrhythmia, pain and cancer. Nav family 1 is composed of nine members, named numerically from 1 to 9...

Cancer and neurodegenerative disease, albeit fundamental differences, share some common pathogenic mechanisms. Accordingly, both conditions are associated with aberrant cell proliferation and migration. Here, we review the causative role played by potassium (K+ ) channels, a fundamental class of proteins, in cancer and neurodegenerative disease. The concept that emerges from the review of the literature is that K+ channels can promote the development and progression of cancerous and neurodegenerative pathologies by dysregulating cell proliferation and migration...

The immune system is capable of identifying and eliminating cancer, a complicated illness marked by unchecked cellular proliferation. The significance of ion channels in the complex interaction between the immune system and cancer has been clarified by recent studies. Ion channels, which are proteins that control ion flow across cell membranes, have variety of physiological purposes, such as regulating immune cell activity and tumor development. Immune cell surfaces contain ion channels, which have been identified to control immune cell activation, motility, and effector activities...

The cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration and the activity of K+ channels on the plasma membrane regulate cellular processes ranging from mitosis to oriented migration. The interplay between Ca2+ and K+ signals is intricate, and different cell types rely on peculiar cellular mechanisms. Derangement of these mechanisms accompanies the neoplastic progression. The calcium signals modulated by voltage-gated (KV ) and calcium-dependent (KCa ) K+ channel activity regulate progression of the cell division cycle, the release of growth factors, apoptosis, cell motility and migration...

Ion channels play a crucial role in cellular signaling, homeostasis, and generation of electrical and chemical signals. Aberrant expression and dysregulation of ion channels have been associated with cancer development and resistance to conventional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy. Several molecular mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Including evasion of apoptosis, decreased drug accumulation in cancer cells, detoxifying and activation of alternative escape pathways such as autophagy...

"No cell could exist without ion channels" (Clay Armstrong; 1999). Since the discovery in the early 1950s, that ions move across biological membranes, the idea that changes of ionic gradients can generate biological signals has fascinated scientists in any fields. Soon later (1960s) it was found that ionic flows were controlled by a class of specific and selective proteins called ion channels. Thus, it became clear that the concerted activities of these proteins can initiate, arrest, and finely tune a variety of biochemical cascades which offered the opportunity to better understand both biology and pathology...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The glycocalyx is a layer composed of carbohydrate side chains bound to core proteins that lines the vascular endothelium. The integrity of the glycocalyx is essential for endothelial cells' performance and vascular homeostasis. The neuroendocrine and immune systems influence the composition, maintenance, activity and degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx. The female organism has unique characteristics, and estrogen and progesterone, the main female hormones are essential to the development and physiology of the reproductive system and to the ability to develop a fetus...

All cells in the human body are covered by a complex meshwork of sugars as well as proteins and lipids to which these sugars are attached, collectively termed the glycocalyx. Over the past few decades, the glycocalyx has been implicated in a range of vital cellular processes in health and disease. Therefore, it has attracted considerable interest as a therapeutic target. Considering its omnipresence and its relevance for various areas of cell biology, the glycocalyx should be a versatile platform for therapeutic intervention, however, the full potential of the glycocalyx as therapeutic target is yet to unfold...

The endothelial glycocalyx is an extracellular matrix that coats the endothelium and extends into the lumen of blood vessels, acting as a barrier between the vascular wall and blood flowing through the vessel. This positioning of the glycocalyx permits a variety of its constituents, including the major endothelial proteoglycans glypican-1 and syndecan-1, as well as the major glycosaminoglycans heparan sulfate and hyaluronic acid, to contribute to the processes of mechanosensation and subsequent mechanotransduction following such stimuli as elevated shear stress...

The endothelial glycocalyx is a dynamic surface layer composed of proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans with a key role in maintaining endothelial cell homeostasis. Its functions include the regulation of endothelial barrier permeability and stability, the transduction of mechanical forces from the vascular lumen to the vessel walls, serving as a binding site to multiple growth factors and vasoactive agents, and mediating the binding of platelets and the migration of leukocytes during an inflammatory response...

The endothelial glycocalyx (EG) is a gel-like structure that forms a layer in between the surface of the endothelium and lumen. EG was once thought to be merely a structural support for the endothelium. However, in recent years, the importance of EG as a first line of defense and a key regulator to endothelial integrity has been illuminated. With advanced age, EG deterioration becomes more noticeable and at least partially associated with endothelial dysfunction. Hyaluronan (HA), one of the critical components of the EG, has distinct properties and roles to the maintenance of EG and endothelial function...

Endothelial glycocalyx is a negatively charged gel-like layer located on the apical surface of endothelial cells. It serves as a selective two-way physical barrier between the flowing blood and the endothelium, which regulates the access of macromolecules and of blood cells to the endothelial surface. In addition, endothelial glycocalyx plays a major role in sensing mechanical signals generated by the blood flow and transducing these signals to maintain endothelial functions; Thus, dysfunction or disruption of endothelial glycocalyx in pathological condition leads to endothelial dysfunction and contributes to the development of vascular diseases...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Ischemic heart disease due to macrovascular atherosclerosis and microvascular dysfunction is the major cause of death worldwide and the unabated increase in metabolic syndrome is a major reason why this will continue. Intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+ ]i ) regulates a variety of cellular functions including contraction, proliferation, migration, and transcription. It follows that studies of vascular Ca2+ regulation in reductionist models and translational animal models are vital to understanding vascular health and disease...

Diabetic vasculopathy is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population. Hyperglycemia, one of the central metabolic abnormalities in diabetes, has been associated with vascular dysfunction due to endothelial cell damage. However, studies also point toward vascular smooth muscle as a locus for hyperglycemia-induced vascular dysfunction. Emerging evidence implicates hyperglycemia-induced regulation of vascular L-type Ca2+ channels CaV 1.2 as a potential mechanism for vascular dysfunction during diabetes...

Lysosomal acid ceramidase (AC) has been reported to determine multivesicular body (MVB) fate and exosome secretion in different mammalian cells including coronary arterial endothelial cells (CAECs). However, this AC-mediated regulation of exosome release from CAECs and associated underlying mechanism remain poorly understood. In the present study, we hypothesized that AC controls lysosomal Ca2+ release through TRPML1 channel to regulate exosome release in murine CAECs. To test this hypothesis, we isolated and cultured CAECs from WT/WT and endothelial cell-specific Asah1 gene (gene encoding AC) knockout mice...

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death and a major public health and economic burden worldwide with expectations of predicted growth in the foreseeable future. It is now recognized clinically that flow-limiting stenosis of the large coronary conduit arteries as well as microvascular dysfunction in the absence of severe stenosis can each contribute to the etiology of ischemic heart disease. The primary site of coronary vascular resistance, and control of subsequent coronary blood flow, is found in the coronary microvasculature, where small changes in radius can have profound impacts on myocardial perfusion...