Persistence of DNA damage following exposure of human bladder cells to chronic monomethylarsonous acid

Malignant transformation was demonstrated in UROtsa cells following 52-weeks of exposure to 50 nM monomethylarsonous acid (MMA^III); the result was the malignantly transformed cell line, URO-MSC. URO-MSC cells were used to study the induction of DNA damage and the alteration of DNA repair enzymes in both the presence of MMA^III [URO-MSC(+)] and after subsequent removal of MMA^III [URO-MSC(−)] following chronic, low-level exposure. In the presence of MMA^III, URO-MSC(+) cells demonstrated a sustained increase in DNA damage following 12-weeks of exposure; in particular, a significant increase in DNA single-strand breaks at 12-weeks of exposure consistently elevated through 52 weeks. The persistence of DNA damage in URO-MSC cells was assessed after a 2-week removal of MMA^III. URO-MSC(−) cells demonstrated a decrease in DNA damage compared to URO-MSC(+); however, DNA damage in URO-MSC(−) remained significantly elevated when compared to untreated UROtsa and increased in a time-dependent manner. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were demonstrated to be a critical component in the generation of DNA damage determined through the incubation of ROS scavengers with URO-MSC cells. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a key repair enzyme in DNA single-strand break repair. URO-MSC(+) resulted in a slight increase in PARP activity after 36-weeks of MMA^III exposure, suggesting the presence of MMA^III is inhibiting the increase in PARP activity. In support, PARP activity in URO-MSC(−) increased significantly, coinciding with a subsequent decrease in DNA damage demonstrated in URO-MSC(−) compared to URO-MSC(+). These data demonstrate that chronic, low-level exposure of UROtsa cells to 50 nM MMA^III results in: the induction of DNA damage that remains elevated upon removal of MMA^III; increased levels of ROS that play a role in MMA^III induced-DNA damage; and decreased PARP activity in the presence of MMA^III.