Figure 2

Chronic low dose exposure of sodium arsenite changed cell morphology. A) In HeLa cells B) In BEAS-2B cells after 30 days in culture, starting to show some elongated characteristics and at 36 days showed elongated, fibroblast-like shape. Phase-contrast microscopy observed the morphological changes of HeLa and BEAS-2B cells. All images were obtained at a magnification of × 100. C) Confirmation of EMT transition using western blot analyses of known EMT markers, claudin-3, Vimentin and β-catenin. D - G: Chronic exposure to low dose iAs-exposure alters cell growth. Proliferation of non-treated and cells treated with inorganic arsenite continuously for several weeks. Growth rate curves were generated by growing cells and counting them every 2-3 days at 80% confluency. Growth curve of NT and iAs-treated cells D) BEAS 2B and E) HeLa cells. Data are mean S.E.M. of 3 independent experiments; P < 0.01. Sodium arsenite extends lifespan of F) BEAS-2B and G) HeLa cells. Cumulative population doubling curves of BEAS-2B cells (left) and HeLa (right) in normal growth medium (blue lines) or cells exposed to 0.5 μM sodium arsenite (red lines). Viable cells were counted weekly by trypan blue staining using a hemacytometer. Population doublings were calculated by the formula log [(number of cells harvested)/(number of cells seeded)]/log2. Each graph depicts the averaged results from three longevity assessments.