Mechanisms of arsenic toxicity are not yet clear. Arsenite has effects on methylation pathways, by decreasing expression of DNA methylases and depletion of S-adenosylmethionine. Histones are DNA packing proteins that regulate gene expression modulating chromatin accessibility. Methylation at Lysine 9 of Histone H3 (K9H3) is a hallmark of heterochromatin. Dimethyl K9H3 is a mark of facultative heterochromatin and trimethyl K9H3 is present on constitutive heterochromatin. HeLa cells exposed for 24 hrs to 1 uM or 5 uM Sodium Arsenite were fixed and different posttranslational modifications of histones were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. Images were analyzed to assess the change on average methylated species of K9H3 in cell nuclei. Interestingly Arsenite (1 uM and 5 uM) treated cells had a significant increase in the trimethylated and dimethylated of K9H3, evaluated throught the comparison of average nuclei brightness and pixel value analysis between treatments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/193356 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Burgos, Rosa M |
| Contributors | Dixon, Kathleen |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Thesis |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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