Malignant Transformation and Abnormal Expression of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor in Bronchial Epithelial Cells Induced by Cadmium Chloride

Objective To analyze the relationship between malignant transformation and abnormal expression of eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3 p36) in human bronchial epithelial (16hbe) cells induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ). Methods 16HBE cells were treated several times with different concentrations of CdCl 2 . Tumorigenic potential of transformed cells was identified by assays for anchorage-independent growth in soft agar and for tumorigenicity in nude mice after the 35th passage. Total rna was isolated from 16HBE cells induced by CdCl 2 , including non-transformed, Cd-transformed, and Cd-tumorigenic cell lines. Special primers for eIF3 p36 were designed and the expression of eIF3 mRNA in different cell lines was detected with fluorescent quantitative-polymerase chain reaction technique (fq-pcr). Results The 35th passage of 16HBE cells transformed by CdCl 2 exhibited overlapping growth. Compared with the non-transformed cells, colonies of transformed cell lines in soft agar showed statistically significant increases and dose-dependent effects (P 2 were elevated as compared with the non-transformed control (P Conclusion CdCl 2 is capable of inducing morphological transformation in 16HBE cells and transformed cells are potentially tumorigenic. Over-expression of eIF3 p36 is positively correlated with malignant transformation of 16HBE cells induced by CdCl 2 and may be one of the molecular mechanisms potentially responsible for carcinogenesis due to Cd.