Differential modulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor regulated enzymes by arsenite in the kidney, lung, and heart of C57BL/6 mice

During the last couple of decades, efforts have been made to study the toxic effects of individual aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhR) ligands such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or heavy metals typified by arsenic As(III). However, little is known about the combined toxic effects of TCDD and As(III) in vivo. Previous reports from our laboratory and others have demonstrated that As(III), by itself or in the presence of AhR ligands, such as TCDD, is capable of differentially altering the expression of various phase I and phase II AhR-regulated genes in in vitro systems. Thus, the objective of the current study was to investigate whether or not similar effects would occur at the in vivo level. Therefore, we examined the effect of exposure to As(III) (12.5 mg/kg) in the absence and presence of TCDD (15 mu g/kg) on the AhR-regulated genes using C57Bl/6 mice. Our results demonstrated that As(III) alone inhibited Cyp1a1 and Cyp1a2 in the kidney, while it induced their levels in the lung and did not affect their mRNA levels in the heart. As(III) also induced Nqo1 and Gsta1 in all tested tissues. Upon co-exposure to As(III) and TCDD, As(III) inhibited the TCDD-mediated induction of Cyp1a1 in the kidney and heart, Cyp1a2 in the kidney and heart, while it potentiated TCDD-mediated induction of Cyp1a1 in the lung, and Nqo1 and Gsta1 in the kidney and lung. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates for the first time that As(III) modulates constitutive and TCDD-induced AhR-regulated genes in a time-, tissue-, and AhR-regulated enzyme-specific manner.