Mechanisms of ATP-induced calcium signaling and growth arrest in human prostate cancer cells

This study investigates the calcium mechanisms involved in growth arrest induced by extracellular ATP in DU-145 androgen-independent human prostate cancer cells. Exposure of DU-145 cells to 100 muM ATP produced an increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration ([Ca2+](i)), due to a mobilization of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum stores and to subsequent capacitative calcium entry (CCE). We have shown that this [Ca2+](i) increase occurs after stimulation by ATP of the phospholipase C (PLC) pathway. For the first time, we have identified the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) isoforms expressed in this cell line and have demonstrated a participation of protein kinase C in CCE. Using fluorescence imaging, we have shown that a long-term treatment with ATP leads to a decrease in the intraluminal endoplasmic reticulum calcium concentration as well as in the amount of releasable Ca2+. Modulating extracellular free calcium concentrations indicated that variations in [Ca2+](i) did not affect the ATP-induced growth arrest of DU-145 cells. However, treating cells with 1 nM thapsigargin (TG) to deplete intracellular calcium pools prevented the growth arrest induced by ATP. Altogether, these results indicate that growth arrest induced in DU-145 cells by extracellular ATP is not correlated with an increase in [Ca2+](i) but rather with a decrease in intracellular calcium pool content. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.