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Expression of AS3MT alters transcriptional profiles in human urothelial cells exposed to arsenite

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is an environmental toxicant and human carcinogen. The enzymatic methylation of iAs that is catalyzed by arsenic (+3 oxidation state)-methyltransferase (AS3MT) generates reactive methylated intermediates that contribute to the toxic and carcinogenic effects of iAs. We have shown that clonal human urothelial cells (UROtsa/F35) that express rat AS3MT and methylate iAs are more susceptible to acute toxicity of arsenite (iAsIII) than parental UROtsa cells that do not express AS3MT and do not methylate iAs. The current work examines transcriptional changes associated with AS3MT expression and identifies specific categories of genes expressed in UROtsa and UROtsa/F35 cells in response to a 24-h exposure to 1 or 50 μM iAsIII. Here, the expression of 21,073 genes was assessed using Agilent Human 1A(V2) arrays. Venn analysis showed marked concentration-dependent differences between gene expression patterns in UROtsa and UROTsa/F35 cells exposed to iAsIII. Among 134 genes altered by exposure to subtoxic 1 μM iAsIII, only 14 were shared by both cell lines. Exposure to cytotoxic 50 μM iAsIII uniquely altered 1389 genes in UROtsa/F35 and 649 genes in UROtsa cells; 5033 altered genes were associated with the chemical alone. In UROtsa, but not UROtsa/F35 cells exposure to 1 μM iAsIII altered expression of genes associated with cell adhesion. In contrast, expression of genes involved in cell cycle regulation was significantly altered in UROtsa/F35 cells at this exposure level. At 50 μM iAsIII, pathways regulating cell cycle, cell death, transcription, and metabolism were affected in both cell lines. However, only Urotsa/F35 cells showed numerous G-protein and kinase pathway alterations as well as alterations in pathways involved in cell growth and differentiation. These data link the AS3MT-catalyzed methylation of iAs to specific genomic responses in human cells exposed to iAsIII. Further analysis of these responses will help to characterize the role of AS3MT-catalyzed methylation in modulation of iAsIII toxicity.