Host: The Japanese Society of Toxicology
Name : The 50th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Toxicology
Date : June 19, 2023 - June 21, 2023
Anemia is one of the symptoms in chronic arsenic poisoning and sepsis. Erythropoietin (EPO) production is essential to improve anemia. We reported that 24-hour exposure to arsenate in HepG2 cells which are EPO-producing cells increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and promotes EPO production. However, the effect of long-term exposure to arsenic on EPO production is unknown. Both promotion and inhibition of EPO production during bacterial infection have been reported. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of arsenic exposure on EPO production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells were treated with LPS and cultured in DMEM medium for 2, 6, and 24 hours and these cells were collected. The arsenic treatment was performed on HepG2 cells exposed to arsenate for more than 3 weeks, and the arsenic treated cells were collected under the same conditions of LPS treatment. The mRNA expression of EPO was measured by real-time RT-PCR. The proliferation of arsenic treated HepG2 cells was slower than control untreated cells, but there was no difference in survival rate. In untreated HepG2 cells, LPS treatment increased EPO mRNA expression at 2, 6, and 24 hours. In contrast, in arsenic treated HepG2 cells, LPS treatment did not increase EPO mRNA expression at 2, 6, and 24 hours. LPS was also reported to promote ROS production. In this experiment, enhance of EPO production was confirmed. Since arsenic promoted ROS removal, it is thought that the ROS production-promoting effect of LPS was suppressed and EPO production was also decreased.
