Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2016, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (11): 1577-1583.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.2016.11.009

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Effect of sodium arsenite on malignant transformation of human immortalized keratinocyte cell lines

Li Yan-ling, Hu Yu-xian, Zhang Xiao-guang, Wang Ling   

  1. Department of Dermatology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
  • Received:2016-01-22 Online:2016-03-11 Published:2016-03-11
  • About author:Li Yan-ling, Master, Associate chief physician, Associate professor, Department of Dermatology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
  • Supported by:

    the Scientific Plan Project of Hebei Province, No. 12277745

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Studies have found that sodium arsenite can cause the malignant transformation and tumorigenicity of HaCaT cells, but whether low concentrations of sodium arsenite can cause the malignant transformation is rarely reported.
OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of sodium arsenite on the malignant transformation of human immortalized keratinocyte cell lines.
METHODS: HaCaT cells were treated with different concentrations of sodium arsenite. MTT assay was used to determine the effect of sodium arsenite on HaCaT cell morphology and proliferation, flow cytometry used to detect the effect of sodium arsenite on HaCaT cell cycle, and soft agar colony formation experiments assay used to determine the effect of sodium arsenite on HaCaT cell colony formation capacity.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: HaCaT cells grew well when the concentration of sodium arsenite was 5 mol/L, but the cell growth was inhibited under intervention with 10 and 50 mol/L sodium arsenite. HaCaT cells treated with 0.1 mol/L sodium arsenite were passaged to the 20th generation, and cell morphology had no notable changes; cells at passage 25 exhibited enlarged size and multiple nucleoli, which had a continued proliferation trend. Compared with the primarily cultured cells, 0.1 mol/L sodium arsenite-treated HaCaT cells at passages 15 and 25 had an increased proportion at S phase and G2/M phase, with strengthened proliferation ability and increased colony-forming efficiency, and moreover, the proliferation ability and colony-forming efficiency of passage 25 cells were higher than those of passage 15 cells. These experimental data show that high concentrations of sodium arsenite reduce HaCaT cell viability, and low concentrations of sodium sulfite have a certain influence on the morphology, cell cycle, proliferation ability and colony-forming efficiency of HaCaT cells, and moreover, the proliferation ability and colony-forming efficiency of human immortalized keratinocytes will be strengthened with the increase of passage.