Plasma membrane calcium ATPases and cancer

The plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) are vital regulators of basal Ca2+ and shape the nature of intracellular free Ca2+ transients after cellular stimuli and are thus regulators of a plethora of cellular processes. Studies spanning many years have identified that at least some cancers are associated with a remodeling of PMCA isoform expression. This alteration in Ca2+ efflux capacity may have a variety of consequences including reduced sensitivity to apoptosis and increases in the responsiveness of cancer cells to proliferative stimuli. In this review we provide an overview of studies focused on PMCAs in the context of cancer. We discuss how the remodeling of PMCA expression could provide a survival and/or growth advantage to cancer cells, as well as the potential of pharmacological agents that target specific PMCA isoforms to be novel therapies for the treatment of cancer. (C) 2011 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.