A variety of mild stresses upregulate stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) and induce mitohormesis in neural crest-derived cells

Abstract We induced upregulation of stanniocalcin-1 ( STC-1 ) by various mild and long lasting stresses and assayed its influence on mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in the neural crest-derived cell line Paju. The obtained data showed that starvation (24–96 h), exposure to 10 nM TPA, and low concentrations (0.05–1 μM) of As 2 O 3 significantly (3–5 times) upregulated Paju cell STC-1 RNA and stabilized the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). However, high concentrations of As 2 O 3 (2.5–5.0 μM) increased intracellular ROS and free calcium levels and, consequently, suppressed STC-1 and MMP. The results show that cells preconditioned by various mild stresses expressed more STC-1 and their MMP were more resistant to a secondary exposure to As 2 O 3 (2.5–5 μM, 96 h) demonstrating mitohormesis. We suggest that MMP deviation from control levels, to an extent innocuous to cell viability, is a general signal for STC-1 -induction and MMP-protection. Our findings of Paju cell MMP-regulation may be of great importance for inventing new ways to prevent neurodegenerative diseases and unravel the mechanisms behind drug resistance.