Induction of apoptotic death and retardation of neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells by sodium arsenite treatment.

ABSTRACT: Chronic arsenic toxicity is a global health problem that affects more than 100 million people worldwide. Long-term health effects of inorganic sodium arsenite in drinking water may result in skin, lung and liver cancers and in severe neurological abnormalities. We investigated in the present study whether sodium arsenite affects signaling pathways that control cell survival, proliferation and neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells (NSC). We demonstrated that the critical signaling pathway, which was suppressed by sodium arsenite in NSC, was the protective PI3K-AKT pathway. Sodium arsenite (2-4μM) also caused down-regulation of Nanog, one of the key transcription factors that control pluripotency and self-renewal of stem cells. Mitochondrial damage and cytochrome-c release indu

SUBMITTER: Ivanov VN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3593966 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature