title: Chromium induces a persistent activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases by a redox-sensitive mechanism in H4 rat hepatoma cells.
abstract: Chromium is an important industrial metal, an environmental pollutant, and a human carcinogen. To investigate the mechanisms of chromium-induced carcinogenesis, activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases ERK1 and ERK2 was examined in rat hepatoma cells following exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). Cr(VI) was found to activate both forms of MAP kinase in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In contrast to the protein kinase C (PKC) agonist, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, which induced a transient activation of MAP kinases, Cr(VI) caused persistent activation of these enzymes. Furthermore, unlike phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, the ability of chromium to activate MAP kinases was found to be independent of PKC since chromium-induced MAP kinase activation occurred in PKC-depleted cells. Stimulation of ERK1 and ERK2 was associated with the ability of Cr(VI) to increase cellular peroxide levels as determined using the H2O2-sensitive fluorescent probe 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate and flow cytometry. Furthermore, the activation of these kinases by chromium was enhanced in cells treated with the glutathione-depleting agent, L-buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoximine, and attenuated in cells pretreated with an agent that elevates cellular levels of glutathione (i.e., N-acetyl-L-cysteine). The ability of chromium to modulate MAP kinase activity in this manner suggests a mechanism of chromium-induced carcinogenesis that involves the persistent stimulation of cellular regulatory pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Yurkow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002857:Chromium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000201:enzymology*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010545:Peroxides / Q000378:metabolism; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D010545:Peroxides; D002857:Chromium; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate