Premium
Culture conditions profoundly impact phenotype in BEAS‐2B, a human pulmonary epithelial model
Author(s) -
Zhao Fei,
Klimecki Walter T.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.3094
Subject(s) - fetal bovine serum , arsenite , sodium arsenite , transcriptome , cell culture , cytotoxicity , biology , carcinogenesis , reactive oxygen species , microbiology and biotechnology , andrology , chemistry , in vitro , gene expression , biochemistry , arsenic , gene , genetics , medicine , organic chemistry
BEAS‐2B, an immortalized, human lung epithelial cell line, has been used to model pulmonary epithelial function for over 30 years. The BEAS‐2B phenotype can be modulated by culture conditions that include the presence or absence of fetal bovine serum (FBS). The popularity of BEAS‐2B as a model of arsenic toxicology, and the common use of BEAS‐2B cultured both with and without FBS, led us to investigate the impact of FBS on BEAS‐2B in the context of arsenic toxicology. Comparison of genome‐wide gene expression in BEAS‐2B cultured with or without FBS revealed altered expression in several biological pathways, including those related to carcinogenesis and energy metabolism. Real‐time measurements of oxygen consumption and glycolysis in BEAS‐2B demonstrated that FBS culture conditions were associated with a 1.4‐fold increase in total glycolytic capacity, a 1.9‐fold increase in basal respiration, a 2.0‐fold increase in oxygen consumed for ATP production and a 2.8‐fold increase in maximal respiration, compared with BEAS‐2B cultured without FBS. Comparisons of the transcriptome changes in BEAS‐2B resulting from FBS exposure to the transcriptome changes resulting from exposure to 1 μM sodium arsenite revealed that mRNA levels of 43% of the arsenite‐modulated genes were also modulated by FBS. Cytotoxicity studies revealed that BEAS‐2B cells exposed to 5% FBS for 8 weeks were almost 5 times more sensitive to arsenite cytotoxicity than non‐FBS‐exposed BEAS‐2B cells. Phenotype changes induced in BEAS‐2B by FBS suggest that culture conditions should be carefully considered when using BEAS‐2B as an experimental model of arsenic toxicity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.