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Updated: May 2, 2026
High Content Screening Analysis to Evaluate the Toxicological Effects of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents HPHC
Published on: May 10, 2016
Transcriptomic analysis reveals particulate hexavalent chromium regulates key inflammatory pathways in human lung
J Calvin Kouokam1, Rachel M Speer2, Idoia Meaza1
1Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, 500 S Preston St, Rm, 1422 Louisville, KY, USA.
Abstract:
Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is considered a major environmental health concern and lung carcinogen. However, the exact mechanism by which Cr(VI) causes lung cancer in humans remains unclear. Since several reports have demonstrated a role for inflammation in Cr(VI) toxicity, the present study aimed to apply transcriptomics to examine the global mRNA expression in human lung fibroblasts after acute (24 h) or prolonged (72 and 120 h) exposure to 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 μg/cm2 zinc chromate, with a particular emphasis on inflammatory pathways. The results showed Cr(VI) affected the expression of multiple genes and these effects varied according to Cr(VI) concentration and exposure time. Bioinformatic analysis of RNA-Seq data based on the Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and MetaCore databases revealed multiple inflammatory pathways were affected by Cr(VI) treatment. qRT-PCR data corroborated RNA-Seq findings. This study showed for the first time that Cr(VI) regulates key inflammatory pathways in human lung fibroblasts, providing novel insights into the mechanisms by which Cr(VI) causes lung cancer.
