Central role of IP3R2-mediated Ca2+ oscillation in self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells elucidated by high-signal ER sensor.

Ca2+ oscillation is a system-level property of the cellular Ca2+-handling machinery and encodes diverse physiological and pathological signals. The present study tests the hypothesis that Ca2+ oscillations play a vital role in maintaining the stemness of liver cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are postulated to be responsible for cancer initiation and progression. We found that niche factor-stimulated Ca2+ oscillation is a signature feature of CSC-enriched Hep-12 cells and purified α2δ1+ CSC fractions from hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. In Hep-12 cells, the Ca2+ oscillation frequency positively correlated with the self-renewal potential. Using a newly developed high signal, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localized Ca2+ sensor GCaMP-ER2, we demonstrated CSC-distinctive oscillatory ER Ca2+ release controlled by the type 2 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R2). Knockdown of IP3R2 severely suppressed the self-renewal capacity of liver CSCs. We propose that targeting the IP3R2-mediated Ca2+ oscillation in CSCs might afford a novel, physiologically inspired anti-tumor strategy for liver cancer.