Salvage, S. C. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2023

An Nav1.5-dependent feedback mechanism driving glycolytic acidification in breast cancer metastasis

Solid tumours have abnormally high intracellular [Na+]. The activity of various Na+ channels may underlie this Na+ accumulation. Voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) have been shown to be functionally active in cancer cell lines, where they promote invasion. However, the mechanisms involved, and clinical relevance, are incompletely understood. Here, we show that protein expression of the Nav1.5 VGSC subtype strongly correlates with increased metastasis and shortened cancer-specific survival in breast cancer patients. In addition, VGSCs are functionally active in patient-derived breast tumour cells, cell lines, and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Knock down of Nav1.5 in a mouse model of breast cancer suppresses expression of invasion-regulating genes. Nav1.5 activity increases glycolysis in breast cancer cells, likely by up-regulating activity of the Na+/K+ ATPase, thus promoting H+ production and extracellular acidification. The pH of murine xenograft tumours is lower at the periphery than in the core, in regions of higher proliferation and lower apoptosis. In turn, acidic extracellular pH elevates persistent Na+ influx through Nav1.5 into breast cancer cells. Together, these findings show positive feedback between extracellular acidification and movement of Na+ into cancer cells which can facilitate invasion. These results highlight the clinical significance of Nav1.5 activity as a potentiator of breast cancer metastasis and provide further evidence supporting the use of VGSC inhibitors in cancer treatment.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Pathological turret mutations in the cardiac sodium channel cause long-range pore disruption

The voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.5 initiates the cardiac action potential. Germline mutations that disrupt Nav1.5 activity predispose affected individuals to inherited cardiopathologies. Some of these Nav1.5 mutations alter amino acids in extracellular turret domains DII and DIII. Yet the mechanism is unclear. In the rat Nav1.5 structure determined by cryogenic electron microscopy, the wild-type residues corresponding to these mutants form a complex salt-bridge between the DII and DIII turret interface. Furthermore, adjacent aromatic residues form cation-{pi} interactions with the complex salt-bridge. Here, we examine this region using site-directed mutagenesis, electrophysiology and in silico modeling. We confirm functional roles for the salt-bridges and the aromatic residues. We show that their disruption perturbs the geometry of both the DEKA selectivity ring and the inner pore vestibule that are crucial for sodium ion permeability. Our findings provide insights into a class of pathological mutations occurring not only in Nav1.5 but also in other sodium channel isoforms too. Our work illustrates how the sodium channel structures now being reported can be used to formulate and guide novel functional hypotheses.

biochemistry↗