Our cellular genome is susceptible to cytotoxic lesions which include single strand breaks and double among other lesions. Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein was one of the first DNA damage sensor proteins be discovered as being involved in repair well telomere maintenance. Telomeres help maintain stability our chromosomes by protecting ends from degradation. Cells ataxia (AT) patients...

Arsenite-induced mitotic abnormalities result in mitotic death in several cancer cell lines. However, how arsenite induces these effects is not known. We have previously shown that arsenite induces mitotic arrest, mitotic abnormalities, and mitotic death in CGL-2 cells. To further delineate the mechanism of action of arsenite, we examined its effect on centrosome duplication and the possible li...

Exposure to metallic environmental toxicants has been demonstrated to induce a variety of oxidative stress responses in mammalian cells. The transcription factor Nrf2 is activated in response to oxidative stress and coordinates the expression of antioxidant gene products. In this study, we describe the development of an Nrf2-specific reporter gene assay that can be used to study the oxidative s...

Inflammasomes are large cytoplasmic multiprotein complexes that activate caspase-1 in response to diverse intracellular danger signals. Inflammasome components termed nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) proteins act as sensors for pathogen-associated molecular patterns, stress, or danger stimuli. We discovered that arsenicals, including arsenic trioxide and sodium arse...

Environmental exposure to arsenic represents a serious challenge to humans and other animals. The aim of the present study was to test the protective effect of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) either individually or in combination with a chelating agent, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), against sodium arsenite oral toxicity in male rats. Five groups were used: control; arsenic group (...

A glutathione S-transferase (GST) was purified from an arsenic-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell line, SA7. The SA7 GST was shown to catalyse the conjugation of glutathione and ethacrynic acid, a specific substrate for Pi class GST. Its N-terminal amino-acid sequence has 80% identical residues to that of rat GST P and human GST pi. Thus, the GST purified from SA7 cells belongs to the Pi fami...

Chemotherapeutics and other pharmaceuticals are common sources of cellular stress. Darinaparsin (ZIO-101) is a novel organic arsenical under evaluation as a cancer chemotherapeutic, but the drug's precise mechanism of action is unclear. Stress granule formation is an important cellular stress response, but the mechanisms of formation, maintenance, and dispersal of RNA-containing granules are no...

We have analyzed the pattern of protein synthesis in solar near ultraviolet (334 nm, 365 nm) and near visible (405 nm) irradiated normal human skin fibroblasts. Two hours after irradiation we find that one major stress protein of approximately 32 kDa is induced in irradiated cells. This protein is not induced by ultraviolet radiation at wavelengths shorter than 334 nm and is not inducible by he...

This study examined the roles of arsenic translocation and reduction, and P distribution in arsenic detoxification of Pteris vittata L. (Chinese Brake fern), an arsenic hyperaccumulator and Pteris ensiformis L. (Slender Brake fern), a non-arsenic hyperaccumulator. After growing in 20% Hoagland solution containing 0, 133 or 267 microM of sodium arsenate for 1, 5 or 10 d, the plants were separate...

The objectives of this study were to conduct batch and column studies to (i) assess the effectiveness of zero-valent iron for arsenic remediation in groundwater, (ii) determine removal mechanisms of arsenic, and (iii) evaluate implications of these processes with regard to the stability of arsenic and long-term remedial performance of the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) technology. A high conc...