Arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel stimulate cell growth via NADPH oxidase activation

Exposure to metals and metalloids including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and nickel has been a worldwide health problem for several decades. The aim of this study was to learn how metal-induced oxidative stress triggers cell proliferation, a process of great significance for cancer. NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity and cell proliferation were measured as endpoints in both NOX-deficient and NOX-proficient cells. The X chromosome linked CGD (X-CGD) human promyelocytic leukemia PLB-985 cells lacking gp91phox and the X-CGD cells re-transfected with gp91phox (X-CGD-gp91(phox)) were used together with immortalized human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT). The cells were exposed to different concentrations of the metals alone or together with the NOX inhibitor, diphenyleneiodonium (DPI). We found that the studied metals increased NOX activity. They stimulated cell proliferation in HaCaT and X-CGD-gp91(phox) cells at concentrations below 1μM but not in the X-CGD cells that lack functional NOX. Addition of DPI attenuated the metal-induced cell proliferation. At concentrations above 1μM these metals inhibited cell proliferation. Based on these findings, we propose that many environmental pollutants, including metals and also endogenous NOX-activators such as oxidants and growth factors, interfere with cell growth kinetics by increasing the levels of the diffusible molecule H2O2. Here, we provide evidence that NOXs is central to the mechanism of metal-mediated reactive oxygen species production and stimulation of cell proliferation.