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Cancer-Related Increases and Decreases in Calcium Signaling at the Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mitochondria Interface (MAMs)

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Abstract

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondria regions are specialized subdomains called also mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs). MAMs allow regulation of lipid synthesis and represent hubs for ion and metabolite signaling. As these two organelles can module both the amplitude and the spatiotemporal patterns of calcium (Ca2+) signals, this particular interaction controls several Ca2+-dependent pathways well known for their contribution to tumorigenesis, such as metabolism, survival, sensitivity to cell death, and metastasis. Mitochondria-mediated apoptosis arises from mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane, and the release of mitochondrial apoptotic factors into the cytosol. Decreases in Ca2+ signaling at the ER-mitochondria interface are being studied in depth as failure of apoptotic-dependent cell death is one of the predominant characteristics of cancer cells. However, some recent papers that linked MAMs Ca2+ crosstalk-related upregulation to tumor onset and progression have aroused the interest of the scientific community.

In this review, we will describe how different MAMs-localized proteins modulate the effectiveness of Ca2+-dependent apoptotic stimuli by causing both increases and decreases in the ER-mitochondria interplay and, specifically, by modulating Ca2+ signaling.

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Acknowledgments

PP is grateful to Camilla degli Scrovegni for continuous support. The Signal Transduction Laboratory is supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC: IG-23670 to P.P. and IG-19803 to C.G.), A-ROSE, Telethon (GGP11139B to P.P), Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN2017E5L5P3 to P.P and PRIN20177E9EPY to C.G.), the Italian Ministry of Health (GR-2013-02356747 to C.G.), the European Research Council (ERC, 853057- InflaPML to C.G.), and local funds from the University of Ferrara to PP and C.G. SM is supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (GR-2016-02364602) and local funds from Marche Polytechnic University (Ancona, Italy). MRW was supported by the Internal Project of The Children’s Memorial Health Institute (No S141/2014).

The authors declare no conflict of interests. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Paolo Pinton .

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Danese, A. et al. (2020). Cancer-Related Increases and Decreases in Calcium Signaling at the Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mitochondria Interface (MAMs). In: Pedersen, S.H.F., Barber, D.L. (eds) Organelles in Disease. Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, vol 185. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/112_2020_43

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