Abstract
Vanadium is an air pollutant that imparts immunosuppressive effects on NK cell immune responses, in part, by dysregulating interleukin (IL)-2/IL-2R-mediated JAK signaling pathways and inducing apoptosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate effects of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) on other IL-2 receptor-mediated signaling pathways, i.e. PI3K-AKT-mTOR and Ras-MAPK. Here, IL-2-independent NK-92MI cells were exposed to different V2O5 doses for 24 h periods. Expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, ERK1/2, MEK1, PTEN, SHP1, BAD and phosphorylated forms, as well as caspases-3, -8, -9, BAX and BAK in/on the cells were then determined by flow cytometry. The results show that V2O5 was cytotoxic to NK cells in a dose-related manner. Exposure increased BAD and pBAD expression and decreased that of BAK and BAX, but cell death was not related to caspase activation. At 400 µM V2O5, expression of PI3K-p85 regulatory subunit increased 20% and pPI3K 50%, while that of the non-pPI3K 110α catalytic subunit decreased by 20%. At 200 μM, V2O5 showed significant decrease in non-pAkt expression (p < 0.05); the decrease in pAkt expression was significant at 100 μM. Non-pmTOR expression displayed a significant downward trend beginning at 100 μM. Expressions of pMEK-1/2 and pERK-1/2 increased substantially at 200 μM V2O5. No differences were found with non-phosphorylated ERK-1/2. PTEN expression increased significantly at 100 μM V2O5 exposure whereas pPTEN decreased by 18% at 25 μM V2O5 concentrations, but remained unchanged thereafter. Lastly, V2O5 at all doses decreased SHP1 expression and increased expression of its phosphorylated form. These results indicated a toxic effect of V2O5 on NK cells that was due in part to dysregulation of signaling pathways mediated by IL-2 via increased PTEN and decreased SHP1 expression. These results can help to explain some of the known deleterious effects of this particular form of vanadium on innate immune responses.
Highlights
A predominant source of vanadium (V), an important pollutant in the air of major cities (Fortoul et al 2002), is the increased combustion of fuel products that have high V content (Ivancsits et al 2002; Shafer et al 2012)
Earlier experiments with cells exposed to V2O5 for 24-h showed that the percentage of viable cells decreased in a dose-related manner to 78.7, 74.9, 63.1, 51.0, and 34.9% (Gallardo-Vera et al 2016) (Supplementary Figure S1; adapted from paper)
The present study results showed that V2O5 affected IL-2-dependent PI3K/Akt/mTOR and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways (Figure 10)
Summary
A predominant source of vanadium (V), an important pollutant in the air of major cities (Fortoul et al 2002), is the increased combustion of fuel products that have high V content (Ivancsits et al 2002; Shafer et al 2012). Inhaled V can enter the systemic circulation of an organism, subsequently exerting toxicities in other organs and tissues (Fortoul et al 2002; Nemmar et al 2004). The toxic effects of V are related to the chemical nature of the V agent itself (i.e. oxidation state, free or complexed forms, etc.) (Korbecki et al 2012). Inhalation of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) by mice affects the histology and function of the majority of tissues and organs including the spleen (Pinon-Zarate et al 2008; Colin-Barenque et al 2015). The general outcome from exposure to V agents is a suppression of the hosts adaptive and innate immune response (Fortoul van der Goes et al 2014). Mice and humans exposed to pollutants derived from burning coal or diesel exhaust particles show a diminished NK cell function
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