![]()
|
|
||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 5, 3875-3884, February 4, 2005
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||






From the
Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, the ¶College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, the ||Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, and the **Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology and The Cancer Center, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506
Received for publication, April 5, 2004 , and in revised form, October 7, 2004.
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
) in SVEC4-10 cells. Immunoprecipitation and Western blotting analysis demonstrated that arsenic stimulation induced serine phosphorylation of p47phox, a key component of NADPH oxidase, indicating that arsenic induces
formation through NADPH oxidase activation. Inhibition of arsenic-induced actin filament reorganization by either overexpression of a dominant negative Cdc42 or pretreatment of an actin filament stabilizing regent, jasplakinolide, abrogated arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation, showing that the activation of NADPH oxidase was regulated by Cdc42-mediated actin filament reorganization. This study also showed that overexpression of a dominant negative Rac1 was sufficient to abolish arsenic-induced
production, implying that Rac1 activities are required for Cdc42-mediated NADPH oxidase activation in response to arsenic stimulation. Furthermore, arsenic stimulation induced cell migration, which can be inhibited by the inactivation of either Cdc42 or NADPH oxidase. Taken together, the results indicate that arsenic is able to activate NADPH oxidase through Cdc42-mediated actin filament reorganization, leading to the induction of an increase in cell migration in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. | INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
B pathways, alterations in cell differential and proliferation, and the induction of apoptosis (3).
ROS is a collective term for the intermediates formed during oxidative metabolism, encompassing both oxygen radicals and non-radical reactive oxygen derivatives including superoxide anion (
), the hydroxyl radicals (·OH), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Mammalian cells have the antioxidant defense systems to remove low physiological concentrations of ROS. However, extremely high concentrations of ROS can cause DNA, protein, and lipid damage in cells. It has been proven that arsenic induces the formation of
in several different kinds of cells, including vascular endothelial cells (4), human vascular smooth muscle cells (5), acute promyelocytic leukemia cells (6), murine keratinocytes (7), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells (8). It has been proposed that ROS generated by arsenic-mediated reactions cause DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein modification as well as alterations of antioxidant defenses, which are associated with the alterations of cell signal transduction (3). Although increasing evidence shows that ROS play an important role in arsenic-induced carcinogenesis, its mechanism of formation remains to be investigated. Recent study has demonstrated that arsenic is able to up-regulate NADPH oxidase, which is the main source of arsenic-induced ROS generation (9). The mechanism of arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation itself is not clear.
Actin is one of the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic cells. There are two different forms of actin, mono-actin (G-actin) and actin filaments (F-actin). Actin filaments are involved in a wide variety of cell functions, including cell motility, cell surface remodeling, cell shape changes during mitosis, cell contraction and separation during cytokinesis, cell-cell/cell-substrate interaction, cell signal transduction, angiogenesis, and endocytosis (1012). Actin filaments function in cellular processes by undergoing dynamic structural reorganization or remodeling to form discrete structures at the cell periphery that mediate attachment to the substratum (13). These discrete structures are lamellipodia, filopodia, membrane ruffles, and stress fibers (13). The formation of these structures is regulated by both extracellular and intracellular signals and is essential for cell adhesion, migration, and signal transduction (11, 13).
Understanding arsenic-induced actin filament reorganization is important for elucidation of the overall mechanisms involved in arsenic-induced cellular injury. It is controversial as to whether the exposure of cells to arsenic will induce actin filament reorganization. Earlier reports indicated that arsenic exposure induces the dissociation of actin stress fibers and membrane perturbations in 3T3 cells (14, 15). There is also a report showing that arsenic is unable to induce actin filament reorganization even at such a high concentration that causes a marked retardation of cell growth in Chinese hamster V79 lung fibroblast cells (16). Moreover, the molecular mechanisms by which arsenic induces actin filament reorganization have not been elucidated, and little is known about the functional implications of arsenic-induced actin filament reorganization in cell signal transduction and cell metastasis.
In this report, we sought to examine whether arsenic exposure would induce actin filament reorganization in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells and determine the underlying mechanisms involved. The present study also attempts to understand the mechanisms of arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation and cell migration with an emphasis on the involvement of Cdc42 and actin filament reorganization. We demonstrated that arsenic stimulation induced actin filament reorganization to form lamellipodia and filopodia structures through the activation of Cdc42 in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. We also found that arsenic stimulation produced superoxide anion (
) and activated NADPH oxidase, indicating that arsenic may induce
through the activation of NADPH oxidase. Furthermore, we showed that the activation of NADPH oxidase was regulated by Cdc42-mediated actin filament reorganization upon arsenic stimulation. We also demonstrated that Rac activities were required for Cdc42-mediated
production. Interestingly, the results obtained here also showed that the NADPH oxidase activity was involved in arsenic-stimulated cell migration via Cdc42-mediated actin filament reorganization in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. This study defined a unique cell-signaling pathway that may be involved in arsenic-induced carcinogenesis. The results of this study also provided the first evidence showing that Cdc42-induced actin filament reorganization mediates the activation of NADPH oxidase.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Cell Culture and Plasmid ConstructionSVEC4-10 cells, an immortal mouse endothelial cell line, were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA) and routinely passaged in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium with 10% fetal calf serum. Both a dominant active form of Cdc42 (phEFdpCdc42V12) and a dominant negative form of Cdc42 (phEFdnCdc42N14) were gifts from Dr. Alan Hall (University College London, UK) and Dr. Wang Lu-Hai (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York NY). pGST-PAK-CRIB is a gift from Dr. Pontous Aspenstrom (Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Uppsala, Sweden). Both phEFdnCdc42N14 and phEFdpCdc42V12 were transfected into SVEC4-10 cells with Lipofectin (Invitrogen), and the transfected cells were selected by G-418 to make stable transfected cell lines.
Immunofluorescence AssaySVEC4-10 cells were grown on coverslips. After treatment, cells were fixed and permeabilized as described previously (17), followed by labeling with FITC-phalloidin for 30 min and mounting to the slides with Fluoromount (Fisher, Pittsburgh, PA). A Zeiss LSM 510 microscope was used to obtain images. Scale bars were generated and inserted by LSM software.
Wound Healing AssayThe wound healing assays were performed according to the methods described previously (10, 12). SVEC4-10 cells were grown on coverslips to 100% confluent monolayers and then scratched to form a 100-µm "wound" using sterile pipette tips. The cells were then cultured with the different treatments in serum-free media for 812 h, fixed on coverslips with formalin, and stained with TRITC-phalloidin. A Zeiss LSM 510 microscope was used to obtain images. Scale bars were generated and inserted by LSM software.
Cdc42 Activation AssayCdc42 activation assays were performed according to the method described by Edlund et al. (18). Briefly, the cells were washed with 1x phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 1 mM MgCl2. After washing, the cells were lysed immediately with lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1% Triton X-100, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 500 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgCl2,10 µg/ml aprotinin, and 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride). The lysates were centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatants were added with GST-WASP-CRIB in GST beads to pull-down active Cdc42 proteins, followed by incubation at 4 °C for 20 min. After incubation, the beads were washed two times with cold wash buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 1% Triton X-100, 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgCl2, 10 µg/ml aprotinin, and 0.1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride). The Cdc42 protein was eluted with sample buffer and subjected to electrophoresis on a 15% SDS-polyacrylamide gel. The Western blot analysis was performed using anti-Cdc42 polyclonal antibody. Protein bands were visualized with an enhanced chemiluminescence reagent (Amersham Biosciences).
Superoxide Anion (
) Assay in Adherent CellsSVEC4-10 cells were serum-starved overnight and then stimulated with 10 µM arsenic for different periods of time. During the stimulation periods, dihydroethidium was added at a final concentration of 5 µM for 30 min. After incubation, the cells were washed two times with phosphate-buffered saline and mounted on coverslips. A Zeiss LSM 510 microscope was used to obtain images. Scale bars were generated and inserted by LSM software.
p67phox Translocation AssayThe p67phox protein translocation assay was performed according to the methods described by Zang et al. (19) and Zhao et al. (20). Briefly, the cells were sonicated for 4 s and then centrifuged at 100,000 x g for 1 h to pellet membrane fraction in the homogenization buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, 10 mM EGTA, 2 mM EDTA, 2 mM dithiothreitol, and protease inhibitors). After centrifugation, the membrane fraction (pellet) was resuspended in the homogenization buffer with 1% Triton X-100. The suspended mixture was sonicated for 4 s and then centrifuged at 15,000 x g for 15 min. The membrane proteins were in the supernatants that were analyzed by Western blot assays.
Measurement of NADPH Oxidase ActivitiesMeasurement of the activity of NADPH oxidase was performed according to the method described by Dib et al. (21). Briefly, the cells were incubated with 0.2% nitro blue tetrazolium during the last 10 min of the incubation. After the treatment, the adherent cells were scraped off and pelleted. The pellets were then resolved in N,N-dimethylformamide, and the supernatants were used in measuring the activities of NADPH oxidase with a spectrophotometer (515 nm).
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
1 h (Fig. 2A). No Rac activation was found (data not shown).
|
Arsenic Stimulation Induces NADPH Oxidase Activation Using confocal microscopy, we sought to determine whether stimulation with arsenic would induce the production of
in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. SVEC4-10 cells were stimulated with 10 µM arsenic for different periods of time and then examined for the production of
by staining the cells with 5 µM dihydroethidium during the last 30 min of stimulation. Dihydroethidium stains cells a blue color, which can be detected by confocal microscopy. When degraded by
, the dye changes color from blue to red. The red color was shown on the left side of each panel in Fig. 3, whereas the blue color was shown on the right side of each panel. Our results showed that the unstimulated SVEC4-10 cells exhibited the blue color and little or no red color (Fig. 3A, section 1), demonstrating that the unstimulated cells do not generate substantial amounts of the
radical. Upon arsenic stimulation for 3 min, the blue color disappeared, and the cells were stained to a red color (Fig. 3A, sections 25), demonstrating the production of the
radical. The arsenic-induced red color peaked at 30 min and lasted at least 4 h after stimulation. Our results indicate that arsenic stimulation induces the production of
in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells.
|
production (22). It was demonstrated that arsenic stimulation activated NADPH oxidase in endothelial cells (23). We sought to determine whether arsenic-induced
production is through the activation of NADPH oxidase in SVEC4-10 cells. Serine phosphorylation of p47phox is an essential step in the activation of NADPH oxidase, and the induction of p47phox phosphorylation in serines is a strong indication of NADPH oxidase activation (22). We performed both immunoprecipitation and Western blotting assays using anti-p47phox and anti-phosphoserine antibodies to determine whether arsenic would stimulate serine phosphorylation of p47phox in SVEC4-10 cells. The results showed that arsenic stimulation induced an increase in serine phosphorylation of p47phox within 3 min, and the peak of the serine phosphorylation occurred
30 min after the stimulation. The phosphorylation lasted >4 h (Fig. 3B). The data presented here demonstrated that arsenic stimulation induced the activation of NADPH oxidase in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. Moreover, the profile of arsenic-induced serine phosphorylation of p47phox is similar to that of arsenic-induced
production, indicating that NADPH oxidase is a major enzyme that produces
upon arsenic stimulation in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells. To further prove arsenic-induced activation of NADPH oxidase, we performed a p67phox translocation assay. The results showed that p67phox was translocated to the cell membrane fraction upon arsenic stimulation (Fig. 3C), which is one of hallmarks of NADPH oxidase activation (22). Taken together, the results demonstrated that arsenic induced the activation of NADPH oxidase in SVEC4-10 cells.
Arsenic Stimulation Induces NADPH Oxidase Activities through the Activation of Cdc42 and the Reorganization of Actin FilamentsThe major focus in this section is to investigate how arsenic stimulation induces the activation of NADPH oxidase in SVEC4-10 cells. In our previous report, we showed that the activation of Cdc42 mediated ethanol-induced ROS production in SVEC4-10 cells (10). The present study investigates whether the induction of NADPH oxidase activity was mediated by Cdc42 activation upon arsenic stimulation in the same cells. Both SVEC4-10 cells and SVEC-Cdc42DN cells were stimulated with 10 µM arsenic for 30 min, and then the production of superoxide-induced formazan was measured to determine the activity of NADPH oxidase (21). Our results showed that arsenic stimulation induced an increase in superoxide-induced formazan production in SVEC4-10 cells that was abolished by the disruption of Cdc42 activity, indicating that the activation of Cdc42 mediates arsenic-induced
production in SVEC4-10 cells (Fig. 4A). We also pretreated the cells with superoxide dismutase, a superoxide-specific scavenger, to examine whether superoxide dismutase would abrogate the superoxide-induced formazan formation. The results showed that the pretreatment of superoxide dismutase inhibited arsenic-induced formation of formazan (Fig. 4A), proving that Cdc42 specifically mediates arsenic-induced
production. Immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that the disruption of Cdc42 abrogated arsenic-induced serine phosphorylation of p47phox in SVEC4-10 cells (Fig. 4B), indicating that Cdc42 regulates NADPH oxidase activation in response to arsenic stimulation. We further examined whether Cdc42 regulated the activation of NADPH oxidase through the reorganization of actin filaments. SVEC4-10 cells were pretreated with the actin filament inhibitors jasplakinolide or cytochalasin D, respectively, and were then stimulated with arsenic for 30 min. Jasplakinolide is an inhibitor of actin filament reorganization that stabilizes actin filaments, and cytochalasin D is an actin filament inhibitor that disrupts the structures of actin filaments (24). They induce the opposite morphological changes in actin filaments. Cytochalasin D, to a lesser extent, mimics the effects of Cdc42 on actin filaments in terms of disruption of actin filament structure. Our immunoprecipitation and Western blotting analysis showed that pretreatment with jasplakinolide abolished arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation, whereas pretreatment with cytochalasin D only partially inhibited arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation (Fig 4B), indicating that Cdc42-mediated actin filament reorganization might regulate NADPH oxidase activation in response to arsenic stimulation. To further prove the effects of actin filament reorganization on NADPH oxidase activation, the pretreated SVEC4-10 cells were stimulated with arsenic followed by staining with dihydroethidium dye. SVEC-Cdc42DN cells were set as a negative control. The results demonstrated that arsenic-induced
production was abolished by either the disruption of Cdc42 activity or the inhibition of actin filament reorganization with jasplakinolide pretreatment (Fig. 4C). The pretreatment of cytochalasin D had a small effect on arsenic-induced
production (Fig. 4C).
|
production. Our results showed that >90% of the cells expressed RacN17 after 48 h of transfection (Fig. 4D, section 1). The overexpression of RacN17 had no effects on arsenic-induced p47phox serine phosphorylation, indicating that Cdc42-regulated p47phox activation upon arsenic stimulation is independent of Rac activities (Fig. 4D, section 2). However, the overexpression of RacN17 was sufficient to abolish arsenic-induced
production, implying that the integrity of Rac activities was required for Cdc42-mediated NADPH oxidase activation to produce
upon arsenic stimulation (Fig. 4D, section 3). Taken together, our results indicate that the activation of Cdc42 regulates NADPH oxidase activities via the reorganization of actin filaments in response to arsenic stimulation in SVEC4-10 endothelial cells, which requires Rac activities.
Arsenic Stimulation Induces Cell MigrationBoth Cdc42 and actin filaments are the key signal proteins that are involved in cell migration (11, 25). Arsenic-induced changes in actin filaments and Cdc42 indicate that arsenic may be able to enhance cell migration in SVEC4-10 cells. We determined whether arsenic would have the capability to induce cell migration and then investigated whether the increase in cell migration would be regulated by arsenic-induced changes in Cdc42, actin filaments, and NADPH oxidase. Cell wound healing assays were performed. SVEC4-10 cells were grown to 100% confluent monolayers on coverslips, starved for serum, and then scratched to form a 100-µm wound with the sterile pipette tips. After the cells were wounded, they were cultured for 8 h with or without 10 µM arsenic stimulation to examine the difference of cell motility at the edge of the wound. SVEC-Cdc42DN cells were used as a negative control to determine the importance of Cdc42 in arsenic-induced cell migration. We also investigated the requirements for NADPH oxidase activation in arsenic-induced cell migration via DPI pretreatment of the cells. DPI is an effective inhibitor of NADPH oxidase (26). Our results showed that the edge of the wound was smooth and that the cells at the edge were unable to move toward the wound without arsenic stimulation after 8 h of the incubation (Fig. 5A), indicating the cells are static in terms of migration. However, upon arsenic stimulation the edge of the wound became protrusive, and many cells migrated out of the boundary of the wound to heal the wound (Fig. 5B), showing that arsenic stimulation induces an increase in cell migration. Our results also showed that either the disruption of Cdc42 activity by Cdc42DN or the inhibition of NADPH oxidase with DPI abolished arsenic-induced cell migration (Fig. 5, C and D). Furthermore, overexpression of a dominant active form of Cdc42 (SVEC-Cdc42DP) was sufficient to induce an increase in cell migration, which is totally abolished upon treatment with jasplakinolide (Fig. 5, E and F). Finally, our results demonstrated that the pretreatment with either 500 units/ml superoxide dismutase or 5 mM Tiron to inhibit the formation of
was sufficient to abrogate arsenic-induced cell migration (Fig. 5, G and H), indicating that arsenic-induced cell migration is a linear consequence of Cdc42 activity and
production. Taken together, the results show that arsenic stimulation induced an increase in cell migration, which was regulated by Cdc42 and NADPH oxidase.
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Arsenic is a carcinogen. It is associated with a high incidence of several types of human cancers (2). However, the molecular mechanisms by which it induces cancer development have not been well elucidated. In this study, we sought to investigate arsenic-induced NADPH oxidase activation and cell migration with emphasis on the role of Cdc42 and actin filament reorganization. The reorganization of actin filaments is a hallmark of cell transformation and the main driving force for cell migration, which is directly involved in angiogenesis, cancer invasion, and metastasis. The processes of actin filament reorganization are essential in cell extension, attachment, contraction, and release during cell movement (27). Our results showed that arsenic stimulation induced the formation of the cellular protrusion structures lamellipodia and filopodia at the leading edges of cells and rosette-like dot structures in the cell body, which demonstrated that arsenic stimulation was sufficient to induce the reorganization of actin filaments in SVEC4-10 cells. The formation of lamellipodia and filopodia involves dynamic processes of actin filament polymerization and depolymerization and actin filament cross-linking (17, 28). These cell motile structures are the key features of transformed cells (29, 30). The reorganization of actin filaments is tightly regulated by small Rho GTPases, mainly Cdc42 and Rac (13). The results obtained from the present study demonstrated that arsenic-induced actin filament reorganization was regulated by the activation of Cdc42. In fibroblast cells, the activation of Cdc42 and Rac is in a hierarchical cascade wherein Cdc42 activates Rac (13). The increase in the formation of lamellipodia indicates that arsenic stimulation may activate Rac in SVEC4-10 cells. We performed Rac activation assays and found that no Rac activation was induced upon stimulation with arsenic (data not shown). It is not unprecedented that Cdc42 remodels actin filaments to form both lamellipodia and filopodia structures without the activation of Rac. Both our previous study in SVEC4--10 cells and those from other groups demonstrated that Cdc42 was able to induce the formation of lamellipodia independent of the activation of Rac (10, 18, 31).
NADPH oxidase is one of the key enzymes that are involved in the generation of
in a variety of cells. It has been demonstrated that NADPH oxidase is a major source of
production in endothelial cells and that the production of
plays a major role in vascular physiology and pathology (22, 32). NADPH oxidase is composed of several components, including p40phox, p67phox, p22phox, gp91phox, and Rac (22). Its activity is low in static endothelial cells (32). Upon stimulation, it can be activated in several minutes to several hours (32). One of the key steps of NADPH oxidase activation is the serine phosphorylation of p47phox. It was demonstrated that the kinetics of p47phox serine phosphorylation paralleled that of NADPH oxidase activation (33). p47phox is an essential part of NADPH oxidase in endothelial cells as well as in phagocytes. It was found that p47phox-/- endothelial cells were unable to sufficiently produce ROS and transmit signaling upon different stimuli. Overexpression of p47phox into these p47 knock-out cells rescued the response of agonist-induced
generation (32, 34). The results obtained from the present study have demonstrated that arsenic stimulation of SVEC4-10 cells generates
both extracellularly and intracellularly. The increase in serine phosphorylation of p47phox indicates that arsenic is able to activate NADPH oxidase and that this activation is responsible for the arsenic-induced generation of
.
It has been demonstrated that NADPH oxidase activity is modulated by several enzymes in endothelial cells, including protein kinase C, phospholipase D, phospholipase A2, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Src, and Rac (32). The present study provided the evidence that NADPH oxidase was regulated by Cdc42. Interestingly, Rac, which is a downstream of Cdc42 and is a key component of NADPH oxidase, is not activated in response to arsenic stimulation, which matches our previous observation that Cdc42 is able to induce ROS production independent of Rac activation upon ethanol stimulation in the same cell system (10). However, our results demonstrated that the integrity of Rac activities was essential for arsenic-induced
production, indicating that Cdc42-mediated
production is Rac-dependent. It was reported that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Trio can activate the phagocyte NADPH oxidase in the absence of a GDP-to-GTP exchange on Rac in an in vitro cell-free NADPH oxidase assay (35). It has been suggested that a conformational change in Rac-GDP upon its interaction with a guanine nucleotide exchange factor is sufficient for mediating NADPH oxidase activation (35). Overexpression of a dominant negative Cdc42 abrogated arsenic-induced actin filament reorganization and NADPH oxidase activation, indicating that Cdc42 modulates both actin filament reorganization and NADPH oxidase activation upon stimulation with arsenic. The present study attempted to correlate these two cellular responses. Although both cytochalasin D and jasplakinolide are actin filament modifiers, they induce the opposite morphological changes in actin filaments through different mechanisms. Cytochalasin D blocks actin polymerization to disrupt actin filament structures, whereas jasplakinolide induces actin polymerization to inhibit actin filament reorganization (24). Using these two actin filament modifiers, the present study shows that Cdc42 regulates NADPH oxidase activity through actin filament reorganization in response to arsenic stimulation. Actin filament reorganization has been found to activate several cell signal proteins, including Erk, JUN, p38, Rho kinase, and Src (3640). The molecular mechanisms of the activation have not been elucidated. Actin filaments, as a main scaffold for cells, not only provide the mechanical supports to cells but also compartmentalize cellular proteins to localize cellular signal transduction. The reorganization of actin filaments upon stimulation may disrupt the actin filament-organized cell compartments and change the cellular localization of signal proteins, leading to changes in cell signal transduction. p47phox was found to directly associate with actin filaments in both endothelial cells and neutrophils (41, 42). Most of p47phox protein and basal NADPH activities are associated with actin filaments in unstimulated endothelial cells (43). It is possible that the actin filaments may provide a structural basis to stabilize NADPH oxidase in static cells. Upon stimulation with arsenic, the reorganized actin filaments may change the localization of p47phox and enable other cell signal proteins to phosphorylate p47phox. Indeed, it was found that angiotensin II-induced activation of endothelial cell NADPH oxidase involved the subcellular redistribution of p47phox (41). It would be interesting to find out which signal protein(s) are involved in the serine phosphorylation of p47phox following Cdc42 activation and actin filament reorganization in response to arsenic stimulation.
Arsenic-induced formation of lamellipodia and filopodia indicates that arsenic may have an ability to increase cell migration, which has been demonstrated in the present study. This is the first evidence showing that arsenic induces cell migration in endothelial cells. The results obtained further demonstrate that arsenic induces cell migration through Cdc42-mediated NADPH oxidase. NADPH oxidase activity was found to mediate endothelial cell migration upon stimulation with growth factors (44). NADPH oxidase-produced ROS play a major role in various cell signal transduction pathways, including cell migration and angiogenesis. Cdc42 has also been demonstrated to be directly involved in cell migration (25). The present study also indicates that NADPH oxidase-produced
is a mediator for Cdc42-induced cell migration. The increase in cell migration upon arsenic stimulation suggests that arsenic may promote cancer development through the enhancement of cell migration, opening a new door for the investigation of the overall mechanisms of arsenic-induced carcinogenesis.
Taken together, this study demonstrated that arsenic stimulation is sufficient to do the following: (a) induce the reorganization of actin filaments; (b) induce the activation of Cdc42; (c) activate NADPH oxidase and generate
; and (d) induce an increase in cell migration. Our study has also concluded that Cdc42 is able to regulate NADPH oxidase activity through actin filament reorganization, leading to an increase in cell migration in endothelial cells. Our study defines a unique signal transduction pathway that indicates Cdc42 mediates cell migration through actin filament reorganization and NADPH oxidase activation upon arsenic stimulation in endothelial cells (Fig. 6).
|
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|

Supported by National Institutes of Health Grant CA060731. ![]()
To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 304-285-6286; Fax: 304-285-5938; E-mail: YAQ2{at}CDC.GOV.
1 The abbreviations used are: ROS, reactive oxygen species; CRIB, Cdc42/Rac interactive binding region; Cdc42DN, dominant negative form of Cdc42 cells; DPI, diphenyleneiodonium; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; GST, glutathione S-transferase; TRITC, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate; WASP, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C. E. Olsen, A. E. Liguori, Y. Zong, R. C. Lantz, J. L. Burgess, and S. Boitano Arsenic upregulates MMP-9 and inhibits wound repair in human airway epithelial cells Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, August 1, 2008; 295(2): L293 - L302. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Lemarie, E. Bourdonnay, C. Morzadec, O. Fardel, and L. Vernhet Inorganic Arsenic Activates Reduced NADPH Oxidase in Human Primary Macrophages through a Rho Kinase/p38 Kinase Pathway J. Immunol., May 1, 2008; 180(9): 6010 - 6017. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
O.-N. Bae, K.-M. Lim, J.-Y. Han, B.-I. Jung, J.-Y. Lee, J.-Y. Noh, S.-M. Chung, M.-Y. Lee, J.-Y. Lee, and J.-H. Chung U-shaped Dose Response in Vasomotor Tone: A Mixed Result of Heterogenic Response of Multiple Cells to Xenobiotics Toxicol. Sci., May 1, 2008; 103(1): 181 - 190. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. C. Prozialeck, J. R. Edwards, D. W. Nebert, J. M. Woods, A. Barchowsky, and W. D. Atchison The Vascular System as a Target of Metal Toxicity Toxicol. Sci., April 1, 2008; 102(2): 207 - 218. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||