Methylcobalamin Acts as a Synergistic Effector of Cadmium Chloride (Cdcl2 ) and Enhances Cadmium Induced Stress in Human A549 Cells through Methylation of MT2A Promoter

Authors: Ravindran G, Samanta A and Sarkar A*

DOI: 10.23880/act-16000291

Volume 9, Issue 1

Abstract

Methylcobalamin (MeB12) a vitamin B12 analogue is used in the treatment of several neurological disorders was used in this study to check for its role in cadmium toxicity. Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal can cause considerable damage to airway epithelium which can lead to many pulmonary disorders and even lung cancer. Human A549 cells were grown in medium supplemented with MeB12. for 48 hours, followed by 24 hours exposure to increasing concentrations of CdCl2 . MeB12 enhanced cadmium induced cells death. Isobolographic analysis revealed a synergistic effect of these two compounds. Studies on the revealed while MT1A promoter is already heavily methylated in A549 cell line, MT2A appeared to be methylated only in the presence of CdCl2 and MeB12. Our results suggest that the epigenetic modification of MT2A gene may be one of the contributing factors towards the enhanced cadmium sensitivity in A549 cells in the presence of MeB12.

Keywords: Methylcobalamin; Cadmium Chloride; Metallothionein; Synergy; Methylation; Cytotoxicity

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