TRPV6 potentiates calcium-dependent cell proliferation

The Ca2+ homeostasis within cells controls a diversity of cellular processes including gene transcription, proliferation and apoptosis. Perturbance of Ca2+ signaling may induce deregulation of cell proliferation and suppression of cell death providing the basis for cancer development. In human prostate cancer, a correlation between the mRNA expression of the Ca2+ channel TRPV6 and the staging of the cancer has been described. We have analyzed the influence of TRPV6 on cell proliferation within HEK-293 cells. We show that TRPV6 increases cell proliferation of HEK-293 cells in a Ca2+ dependent manner. The increased proliferation correlates with slightly increased intracellular Ca2+ levels without interfering with the intrinsic Ca2+ dependence of HEK-293 cell proliferation. Low doses of econazole inhibit both, TRPV6 dependent Ca2+ signals and cell proliferation while BTP2, a potent inhibitor of Ca2+ signals and cell proliferation in T-cells, neither influences TRPV6 dependent Ca2+ signals nor cell proliferation of HEK-293 cells. Our data demonstrate that TRPV6 increases the rate of Ca2+ dependent cell proliferation which is a prerequisite for its potential role in tumor progression.