Nickel(II) acetate-treated Chinese hamster ovary cells differentially express Vimentin, hSNF2H homologue, and H ferritin.

In probing the possible non-genotoxic molecular mechanism(s) of nickel(II)-induced carcinogenesis, we performed a non-radioactive mRNA differential display analysis for nickel(II) acetate-treated Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1-BH4). Three out of thirty differentially expressed cDNAs had sequences highly similar to known genes. Down-regulation of vimentin and a hSNF2H homologue and up-regulation of ferritin heavy chain were confirmed by Northern blot analysis. The expression of these mRNAs was time- and nickel(II) concentration-dependent. For vimentin, the decrease in mRNA level was concurrent with a decrease in the protein level. For ferritin, the increase in mRNA had no effect on the protein level. Dysregulation of these gene products signifies their involvement in the epigenetic effects of carcinogenic nickel(II) compounds.