Toxicity Assessment of Octachlorostyrene in Human Liver Carcinoma (HepG2) Cells

Guofa Ren, Kangming Wu, Jing An (), Yu Shang, Kewen Zheng and Zhiqiang Yu ()
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Guofa Ren: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Kangming Wu: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Jing An: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Yu Shang: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Kewen Zheng: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Zhiqiang Yu: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environment Protection and Resource Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: Octachlorostyrene (OCS) is a ubiquitous persistent organic pollutant; however, information regarding the toxicological effects of OCS remains limited. In this study, we studied the toxicity mechanisms of OCS using human liver carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The results showed that OCS reduced cell viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Compared with that in the control, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly increased in all treated HepG2 cells. We also found that (1) OCS induced damage in the HepG2 cells via the apoptotic signaling pathway, (2) OCS increased intracellular free Ca 2+ concentration (>180%), and (3) following exposure to 80 μM OCS, there was an increase in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MMP, ~174%), as well as a decrease in ATP levels (<78%). In conclusion, OCS is cytotoxic and can induce apoptosis, in which ROS and mitochondrial dysfunction play important roles; however, the observed increase in MMP appears to indicate that HepG2 is resistant to the toxicity induced by OCS.

Keywords: octachlorostyrene; HepG2 cells; oxidative stress; cell apoptosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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