Ca(2+)-induced changes in energy metabolism and viability of melanoma cells

Cancer cells are characterized by a high rate of glycolysis, which is their primary energy source. We show here that a rise in intracellular-free calcium ion (Ca(2+)), induced by Ca(2+)-ionophore A23187, exerted a deleterious effect on glycolysis and viability of B16 melanoma cells. Ca(2+)-ionophore caused a dose-dependent detachment of phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11), one of the key enzymes of glycolysis, from cytoskeleton. It also induced a decrease in the levels of glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, the two stimulatory signal molecules of glycolysis. All these changes occurred at lower concentrations of the drug than those required to induce a reduction in viability of melanoma cells. We also found that low concentrations of Ca(2+)-ionophore induced an increase in adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), which most probably resulted from the increase in mitochondrial-bound hexokinase, which reflects a defence mechanism. This mechanism can no longer operate at high concentrations of the Ca(2+)-ionophore, which causes a decrease in mitochondrial and cytosolic hexokinase, leading to a drastic fall in ATP and melanoma cell death. The present results suggest that drugs which are capable of inducing accumulation of intracellular-free Ca(2+) in melanoma cells would cause a reduction in energy-producing systems, leading to melanoma cell death. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign