Intrinsic electrical activity drives small-cell lung cancer progression.

ABSTRACT: Elevated or ectopic expression of neuronal receptors promotes tumour progression in many cancer types^1,2; neuroendocrine (NE) transformation of adenocarcinomas has also been associated with increased aggressiveness³. Whether the defining neuronal feature, namely electrical excitability, exists in cancer cells and impacts cancer progression remains mostly unexplored. Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an archetypal example of a highly aggressive NE cancer and comprises two major distinct subpopulations: NE cells and non-NE cells^4,5. Here we show that NE cells, but not non-NE cells, are excitable, and their action potential firing directly promotes SCLC malignancy. However, the resultant high ATP demand leads to an unusual dependency on oxidative phosphorylatio

SUBMITTER: Peinado P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11922742 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature