Latest Publications

@article{umannova_benzopyrene_2011,

title = {Benzo[a]pyrene and tumor necrosis factor-α coordinately increase genotoxic damage and the production of proinflammatory mediators in alveolar epithelial type II cells.},

author = {Lenka Umannová and Miroslav Machala and Jan Topinka and Jana Schmuczerová and Pavel Krčmář and Jiří Neča and Klára Šujanová and Alois Kozubík and Jan Vondráček},

doi = {10.1016/j.toxlet.2011.06.029},

issn = {1879-3169 0378-4274},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-10-01},

journal = {Toxicology letters},

volume = {206},

number = {2},

pages = {121–129},

abstract = {Alveolar type II epithelial (AEII) cells regulate lung inflammatory response and, simultaneously, they are a target of environmental carcinogenic factors. We employed an in vitro model of rat AEII cells, the RLE-6TN cell line, in order to analyze the interactive effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a cytokine which plays a key role in the initiation of inflammatory responses in the lung, and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a highly carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. TNF-α strongly augmented the formation of stable BaP diol epoxide-DNA adducts in AEII cells, which was associated with enhanced p53-Ser15 phosphorylation and decreased cell survival. The increased genotoxicity of BaP was associated with altered expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes involved in its bioactivation, a simultaneous suppression of CYP1A1 and enhancement of CYP1B1 expression. Importantly, BaP and TNF-α acted synergistically to upregulate key inflammatory regulators in AEII cells, including the expression of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and enhanced prostaglandin E2 production and expression of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, interleukin-1β and interleukin-6. We observed that BaP and TNF-α together strongly activated p38 kinase, a principal regulator of inflammatory response. SB202190, a specific p38 inhibitor, prevented induction of both COX-2 and proinflammatory cytokines, thus confirming that p38 activity was crucial for the observed inflammatory reaction. Taken together, our data demonstrated, for the first time, that a proinflammatory cytokine and an environmental PAH may interact to potentiate both DNA damage and the inflammatory response in AEII cells, which may occur through coordinated upregulation of p38 activity.},

note = {Place: Netherlands},

keywords = {Alveolar Epithelial Cells/*drug effects/immunology/*metabolism, Animals, Apoptosis/drug effects, Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases/genetics/metabolism, Benzo(a)pyrene/metabolism/*toxicity, Carcinogens, Cell Line, Cell Proliferation/drug effects, Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1/genetics/metabolism, Cytochrome P-450 CYP1B1, DNA Adducts/*metabolism, Environmental/toxicity, Enzyme Activation/drug effects, Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects, Inflammation Mediators/*metabolism, Messenger/metabolism, Mutagens/*toxicity, p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism, Phosphorylation/drug effects, Post-Translational/drug effects, Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology, Protein Processing, Rats, RNA, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*metabolism, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ondrouskova_heavy_2009,

title = {Heavy metals induce phosphorylation of the Bcl-2 protein by Jun N-terminal kinase.},

author = {Eva Ondrousková and Jana Slovácková and Vendula Pelková and Jirina Procházková and Karel Soucek and Petr Benes and Jan Smarda},

doi = {10.1515/BC.2009.007},

issn = {1431-6730},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-01-01},

journal = {Biological chemistry},

volume = {390},

number = {1},

pages = {49–58},

abstract = {The Bcl-2 protein is one of the key components of biochemical pathways controlling programmed cell death. The function of this protein can be regulated by posttranslational modifications. Phosphorylation of Bcl-2 has been considered to be significantly associated with cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, and with cell death caused by defects of microtubule dynamics. This study shows that phosphorylation of Bcl-2 can be induced by heavy metals due to activation of the Jun N-terminal kinase pathway that is not linked to the G2/M cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, we demonstrate that hyperphosphorylated Bcl-2 protein is a more potent inhibitor of zinc-induced cell death than its hypophosphorylated mutant form. These data suggest that regulation of Bcl-2 protein function by phosphorylation is an important part of cell responses to stress.},

note = {Place: Germany},

keywords = {Animals, Apoptosis/drug effects, Cell Line, Electrophoresis, Gene Expression Regulation, Heavy/*pharmacology, Humans, JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/*metabolism, Metals, Neoplastic/drug effects, Phosphorylation/drug effects, Physiological/drug effects, Post-Translational/drug effects, Protein Processing, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/*metabolism, Signal Transduction/drug effects, Stress, Tumor, Zinc/pharmacology},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}