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Epigenetic remodeling during arsenical-induced malignant transformation.

ABSTRACT: Humans are exposed to arsenicals through many routes with the most common being in drinking water. Exposure to arsenic has been associated with an increase in the incidence of cancer of the skin, lung and bladder. Although the relationship between exposure and carcinogenesis is well documented, the mechanisms by which arsenic participates in tumorigenesis are not fully elucidated. We evaluated the potential epigenetic component of arsenical action by assessing the histone acetylation state of 13 000 human gene promoters in a cell line model of arsenical-mediated malignant transformation. We show changes in histone H3 acetylation occur during arsenical-induced malignant transformation that are linked to the expression state of the associated gene. DNA hypermethylation was detected in hypoacetylated promoters in the select cases analyzed. These epigenetic changes occurred frequently in the same promoters whether the selection was performed with arsenite [As(III)] or with monomethylarsonous acid, suggesting that these promoters were targeted in a non-random fashion, and probably occur in regions important in arsenical-induced malignant transformation. Taken together, these data suggest that arsenicals may participate in tumorigenesis by altering the epigenetic terrain of select genes.

SUBMITTER: Jensen TJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2516486 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Epigenetic remodeling during arsenical-induced malignant transformation.

Jensen Taylor J TJ Novak Petr P Eblin Kylee E KE Gandolfi A Jay AJ Futscher Bernard W BW

Carcinogenesis 20080430 8

Humans are exposed to arsenicals through many routes with the most common being in drinking water. Exposure to arsenic has been associated with an increase in the incidence of cancer of the skin, lung and bladder. Although the relationship between exposure and carcinogenesis is well documented, the mechanisms by which arsenic participates in tumorigenesis are not fully elucidated. We evaluated the potential epigenetic component of arsenical action by assessing the histone acetylation state of 13 ...[more]

PMID: 18448484

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Project description:BackgroundMycoplasmas are the smallest microorganisms capable of self-replication. Our previous studies show that some mycoplasmas are able to induce malignant transformation of host mammalian cells. This malignant transformation is a multistage process with the early infection, reversible and irreversible stages, and similar to human tumor development in nature. The purpose of this study is to explore mechanisms for this malignant transformation.MethodsTo better understand mechanisms for this unique process, we examined gene expression profiles of C3H cells at different stages of the mycoplasma-induced transformation using cDNA microarray technology. A total of 1185 genes involved in oncogenesis, apoptosis, cell growth, cell-cycle regulation, DNA repair, etc. were examined. Differences in the expression of these genes were compared and analyzed using the computer software AtlasImage.ResultsAmong 1185 genes screened, 135 had aberrant expression at the early infection stage, 252 at the reversible stage and 184 at the irreversible stage. At the early infection stage, genes with increased expression (92 genes) were twice more than those with decreased expression (42 genes). The global gene expression at the reversible stage appeared to be more volatile than that at any other stages but still resembled the profile at the early infection stage. The expression profile at the irreversible stage shows a unique pattern of a wide range of expression levels and an increased number of expressing genes, especially the cancer-related genes. Oncogenes and tumor suppressors are a group of molecules that showed significant changes in expression during the transformation. The majority of these changes occurred in the reversible and irreversible stages. A prolonged infection by mycoplasmas lead to the expression of more cancer related genes at the irreversible stage.ConclusionThe results indicate that the expression profiles correspond with the phenotypic features of the cells in the mycoplasma induced transformation process. The early mycoplasma infection stage shares a common phenomenon with many other acute infections, genes with increased expression significantly outnumbering those with decreased expression. The reversible stage is a transition stage between benignancy and malignancy at the molecular level. Aberrant expression of oncogenes and tumor repressors plays a key role in mycoplasma-induced malignant transformation.

Project description:BackgroundArsenic is a carcinogen that targets the urogenital system, including the prostate. Although the mechanisms for arsenic-induced carcinogenesis are undefined, arsenic drives overaccumulation of stem cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) in vivo and in vitro, indicating that these cells are a key target population. Disruption of stem cell population dynamics may be critical to acquisition of cancer phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that prostate stem cells have a survival selection advantage during arsenic exposure that favors their accumulation and facilitates their malignant transformation.MethodsInnate and acquired resistance to acute (24-72 hours of exposure) and chronic (6 weeks of exposure) arsenite-induced cytolethality and apoptosis were assessed in a human prostate stem cell line (WPE-stem) and the mature parental cell line (RWPE-1). Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and/or Western blot analysis was used to measure the expression of apoptosis-, stress-, and arsenic-related genes. Arsenic-, cadmium-, and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced isogenic malignant transformants of RWPE-1 cells were compared for acquisition of CSC-like qualities by holoclone and sphere formation assays, growth in soft agar, and expression of CSC biomarkers. All statistical tests were two-sided.ResultsWPE-stem cells showed innate resistance to arsenic-induced cytolethality (arsenite concentration lethal to 50% of the cells [LC(50)] = 32.4 microM, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 31.5 to 33.3 muM) and apoptosis compared with parental RWPE-1 cells (LC(50) = 10.4 muM, 95% CI = 7.4 to 13.4 microM). Compared with RWPE-1 cells, WPE-stem cells showed noticeably higher expression of antiapoptotic (ie, BCL2, MT), stress-related (ie, NFE2L2, SOD1, PRODH), and arsenic adaptation (ie, ABCC1, GSTP1) factors and noticeably lower expression of proapoptotic factors (ie, BAX, caspases 3, 7, 8, and 9). WPE-stem cells also showed hyper-adaptability to chronic arsenite exposure (5 microM, 6 weeks) compared with RWPE-1 cells (LC(50) = 94.7 vs 32.1 microM, difference = 62.6 muM, 95% CI = 53.3 to 71.9 muM) at levels that in previous work induced a malignant phenotype in RWPE-1 after 30 weeks of exposure. Quantification of CSC-like cells in isogenic RWPE-1 transformants showed that marked overproduction was unique to a malignant phenotype acquired in response to arsenic exposure but not in response to cadmium or N-methyl-N-nitrosourea exposure.ConclusionsAn apparent stem cell survival advantage with regard to arsenic causes selection during malignant transformation that manifests itself as an overabundance of CSC-like cells specifically after arsenic-driven acquisition of malignant phenotype. The increased resistance to apoptosis and arsenite hyper-adaptability of WPE-stem cells suggests that arsenite transformation of RWPE-1 cells involves an increase in the number of CSC-like cells.

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Epigenetic remodeling during arsenical-induced malignant transformation.

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Epigenetic remodeling during arsenical-induced malignant transformation.

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