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Involvement of p38 MAPK pathway in benzo(a)pyrene-induced human hepatoma cell migration and invasion

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) in benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)-induced hepatoma cell migration and invasion. Western blot assay was applied to detect the expression of proteins. qRT-PCR assay was used to measure the expression of mRNA. Wound healing assay and Transwell invasion assay were performed to evaluate cell migratory ability and cell invasive ability, respectively. Our data showed that BaP exposure increased the expression of p-p38 protein in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Exposure to BaP facilitated HepG2 cell migration and invasion, which could be blocked by p38 MAPK inhibitors. In addition, BaP exposure induced upregulation of MMP9 mRNA expression, which was modulated by p-p38. In conclusion, p38 MAPK pathway was involved in BaP-induced hepatoma cell migration and invasion.

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The datasets generated/analyzed during the present study are included in the published article.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1404815) and Henan Province University Science and Technology Innovation Talent Projects (17HASTIT045). The funder had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Toxicology, Henan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 105 of South Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450016, China

    Yadong Wang, Jiangmin Li, Li Li & Haiyu Wang

  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 of Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Li Shi & Haiyan Yang

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  1. Yadong Wang
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  2. Li Shi
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  3. Jiangmin Li
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  4. Li Li
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  5. Haiyu Wang
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Correspondence to Yadong Wang or Haiyan Yang.

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Wang, Y., Shi, L., Li, J. et al. Involvement of p38 MAPK pathway in benzo(a)pyrene-induced human hepatoma cell migration and invasion. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 35838–35845 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06733-3

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