Project description:Cadmium is a metalloestrogen known to activate the estrogen receptor and promote breast cancer cell growth. Previous studies have implicated cadmium in the development of more malignant tumors; however the molecular mechanisms behind this cadmium-induced malignancy remain elusive. Using clonal cell lines derived by exposing breast cancer cells to cadmium for over 6 month (MCF7-Cd4, -Cd6, -Cd7, -Cd8 and -Cd12), this study aims to identify gene expression signatures associated with chronic cadmium exposure. Our results demonstrate that prolonged exposure does not merely result in the deregulation of genes but actually leads to a distinctive expression profile. The genes deregulated in cadmium-exposed cells are involved in multiple biological processes (i.e cell growth, apoptosis, etc.) and molecular functions (i.e. cadmium/metal ion binding, transcription factor activity, etc). Hierarchical clustering demonstrates that the five clonal cadmium cell lines share a common gene expression signature of breast cancer associated genes, clearly differentiating control from cadmium exposed cells. The results presented in this study offer insights into the cellular and molecular impacts of cadmium on breast cancer carcinogenesis and emphasize the importance of studying chronic cadmium exposure as one possible mechanism of promoting breast cancer progression. To understand the effects of chronic cadmium exposure on gene expression in breast cancer, two control MCF7 parental cell lines and five different clonal cadmium-adapted cell lines (MCF7-Cd4, -Cd6, -Cd7, -Cd8, and -Cd12) - previously derived from cells chronically exposed to cadmium - were used for microarray analysis.
Project description:Few works have addressed the effects provoked by the exposure to cadmium containing nanoparticles (NPs) on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). We studied the effects of CdS NPs (5 nm) or ionic cadmium (10 µg Cd/L) after 3 and 21 d of exposure and at 6 months post-exposure (mpe). Acute toxicity was recorded after exposure to both forms of cadmium. Significant cadmium accumulation was measured in the whole fish after both treatments and autometallography showed a higher accumulation of metal in the intestine than that in the liver. Histopathological alterations, such as inflammation in gills and vacuolization in the liver, were detected after the exposure to both cadmium forms and, in a lower extent, at 6 mpe. X-ray analysis proved the presence of CdS NPs in these organs. The hepatic transcriptome analysis revealed that gene ontology terms such as “immune response” or “actin binding” were over-represented after 21 d of exposure to ionic cadmium respect to CdS NPs treatment. Exposure to CdS NPs caused a significant effect on pathways involved in the immune response and oxidative stress, while the exposure to ionic cadmium affected significantly pathways involved in DNA damage and repair and in the energetic metabolism. Oxidative damage to liver proteins was detected after the exposure to ionic cadmium, while a stronger destabilization of the hepatocyte lysosomal membrane was recorded under exposure to CdS NPs. In summary, although ionic cadmium provoked stronger effects than CdS NPs, both cadmium forms exerted an array of lethal and sublethal effects to zebrafish.
Project description:Cadmium is a metalloestrogen known to activate the estrogen receptor and promote breast cancer cell growth. Previous studies have implicated cadmium in the development of more malignant tumors; however the molecular mechanisms behind this cadmium-induced malignancy remain elusive. Using clonal cell lines derived by exposing breast cancer cells to cadmium for over 6 month (MCF7-Cd4, -Cd6, -Cd7, -Cd8 and -Cd12), this study aims to identify gene expression signatures associated with chronic cadmium exposure. Our results demonstrate that prolonged exposure does not merely result in the deregulation of genes but actually leads to a distinctive expression profile. The genes deregulated in cadmium-exposed cells are involved in multiple biological processes (i.e cell growth, apoptosis, etc.) and molecular functions (i.e. cadmium/metal ion binding, transcription factor activity, etc). Hierarchical clustering demonstrates that the five clonal cadmium cell lines share a common gene expression signature of breast cancer associated genes, clearly differentiating control from cadmium exposed cells. The results presented in this study offer insights into the cellular and molecular impacts of cadmium on breast cancer carcinogenesis and emphasize the importance of studying chronic cadmium exposure as one possible mechanism of promoting breast cancer progression.
Project description:To understand how chronic cadmium exposure alters the dependency of ERα in terms of gene expression, we transiently silenced ERα using ICI, an antiestrogen that promotes the degradation of ERα. MCF7 and cadmium-adapted cells (Cd7 and Cd12) were treated with ICI to mediate the degradation of ERα, and a nonbiased global gene expression analysis was conducted using RNA-seq. MCF7 shared 67.3% and 59.5% of the DE genes with Cd7 and Cd12 cells, respectively, suggesting that ERα continues to play an important role in regulating the expression of genes following chronic cadmium exposure. 138 ERE genes (76.7%) were shared by all three cell lines, in that expression changed in the same direction (either up- or downregulated). For the estrogen-responsive genes, 428 (53.6%) of the 799 genes were altered in the same direction in all three cell lines. These findings show that while a majority of ERE genes responded in the same manner to loss of ERα, more variability existed within the estrogen-responsive genes. Collectively, these results indicate that while chronic cadmium exposure leads to genome-wide transcriptional changes, ERα remains important for regulating the expression of genes and maintaining the malignant phenotypes associated with breast cancer progression.
Project description:Background: Arsenite is one of the most toxic chemical substances known and is assumed to exert detrimental effects on viability even at lowest concentrations. By contrast and unlike higher concentrations, we here find that exposure to low-dose arsenite promotes growth of cultured mammalian cells. In the nematode C. elegans, low-dose arsenite promotes resistance against thermal and chemical stressors, and extends lifespan of this metazoan, whereas higher concentrations reduce longevity. While arsenite causes a transient increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in C. elegans, co-exposure to ROS scavengers prevents the lifespan-extending capabilities of arsenite, indicating that transiently increased ROS levels act as transducers of arsenite effects on lifespan, a process known as mitohormesis. The RNA-seq data comprises 2 biological replicates for worms exposed to 100nM Arsenite 48h after L4 and 2 biological replicates of the same age as controls 4 samples: 2 mRNA profiles of C.elegans 48h after L4 exposed to Arsenite; 2 mRNA profiles of C.elegans 48h after L4 as controls (H20). The N2 wild type (var. Bristol) strain was used.
Project description:Metals at high concentrations can exert toxic effects on microorganisms. It has been widely reported that lowering environmental pH reduces effects of cadmium toxicity in bacteria. Understanding the effects of pH-mediated cadmium toxicity on bacteria would be useful for minimizing cadmium toxicity in the environment and gaining insight into the interactions between organic and inorganic components of life. Growth curve analysis confirmed that cadmium was less toxic to Escherichia coli at pH 5 than at pH 7 in M9 minimal salts medium. To better understand the cellular mechanisms by which lowering pH decreases cadmium toxicity, we used DNA microarrays to characterize global gene expression patterns in E. coli in response to cadmium exposure at moderately acidic (5) and neutral (7) values of pH. Higher expression of several stress response genes including hdeA, otsA, and yjbJ at pH 5 after only 5 minutes was observed and may suggest that acidic pH more rapidly induces genes that confer cadmium resistance. Genes involved in transport were more highly expressed at pH 7 than at pH 5 in the presence of cadmium. Of the genes that showed an interaction between pH and cadmium effects, 46% encoded hypothetical proteins, which may have novel functions involved in mitigating cadmium toxicity.
Project description:There is a need to develop biomarkers in alternative testing models predictive for chemically induced chronic disease in humans, preferably describing key events and their relationships in an adverse outcome pathway analysis. Epigenetic modifications, and particularly DNA methylation effects, have been implicated as a major event in susceptibility to develop chronic disease. Arsenic exposure affects large populations around the world through drinking water and industrial activities. We sought to identify epigenetic markers of arsenic exposure. We analyzed the effect of sodium arsenite on DNA methylation in Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos using unbiased methylation profiling by high throughput sequencing.
Project description:Background: Arsenite is one of the most toxic chemical substances known and is assumed to exert detrimental effects on viability even at lowest concentrations. By contrast and unlike higher concentrations, we here find that exposure to low-dose arsenite promotes growth of cultured mammalian cells. In the nematode C. elegans, low-dose arsenite promotes resistance against thermal and chemical stressors, and extends lifespan of this metazoan, whereas higher concentrations reduce longevity. While arsenite causes a transient increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in C. elegans, co-exposure to ROS scavengers prevents the lifespan-extending capabilities of arsenite, indicating that transiently increased ROS levels act as transducers of arsenite effects on lifespan, a process known as mitohormesis. The RNA-seq data comprises 2 biological replicates for worms exposed to 100nM Arsenite 48h after L4 and 2 biological replicates of the same age as controls Jena Centre for Systems Biology of Ageing - JenAge (www.jenage.de)