Frankenstein's followers. Maintenance of human cells outside the body. Issue 1.

Although science can endeavour to do a great many things, unachievable thus far, these activities should be, but seldom are, tempered with the question, should we really do it? This is not necessarily implying a moral code to scientific activity, but at least suggests that we probably should consider the long-term consequences of certain scientific activities to human society and the environment. Indeed, scientists have struggled with the consequences of their discoveries, not least Nobel himself, who set up the Nobel prize as a reaction to being called "The father of death", due to his discovery and financial success with dynamite. Here, we set out the basis for a series of articles entitled, Frankenstein's Followers, Maintenance and propagation of human cells outside the body.

Application of RPTEC/TERT1 cells for investigation of repeat dose nephrotoxicity: A transcriptomic study.

The kidney is a major target organ for toxicity. Incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing at an alarming rate due to factors such as increasing population age and increased prevalence of heart disease and diabetes. There is a major effort ongoing to develop superior predictive models of renal injury and early renal biomarkers that can predict onset of CKD. In the EU FP7 funded project, Predict-IV, we investigated the human renal proximal tubule cells line, RPTEC/TERT1 for their applicability to long term nephrotoxic mechanistic studies. To this end, we used a tiered strategy to optimise dosing regimes for 9 nephrotoxins. Our final testing protocol utilised differentiated RPTEC/TERT1 cells cultured on filter inserts treated with compounds at both the apical and basolateral side, at concentrations not exceeding IC10, for 14 days in a 24 h repeat application. Transepithelial electrical resistance and supernatant lactate were measured over the duration of the experiments and genome wide transcriptomic profiles were assayed at day 1, 3 and 14. The effect of hypoxia was investigated for a subset of compounds. The transcriptomic data were analysed to investigate compound-specific effects, global responses and mechanistically informative signatures. In addition, several potential clinically useful renal injury biomarkers were identified.

A SAGE based approach to human glomerular endothelium: defining the transcriptome, finding a novel molecule and highlighting endothelial diversity.

BACKGROUND: Large scale transcript analysis of human glomerular microvascular endothelial cells (HGMEC) has never been accomplished. We designed this study to define the transcriptome of HGMEC and facilitate a better characterization of these endothelial cells with unique features. Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was used for its unbiased approach to quantitative acquisition of transcripts. RESULTS: We generated a HGMEC SAGE library consisting of 68,987 transcript tags. Then taking advantage of large public databases and advanced bioinformatics we compared the HGMEC SAGE library with a SAGE library of non-cultured ex vivo human glomeruli (44,334 tags) which contained endothelial cells. The 823 tags common to both which would have the potential to be expressed in vivo were subsequently checked against 822,008 tags from 16 non-glomerular endothelial SAGE libraries. This resulted in 268 transcript tags differentially overexpressed in HGMEC compared to non-glomerular endothelia. These tags were filtered using a set of criteria: never before shown in kidney or any type of endothelial cell, absent in all nephron regions except the glomerulus, more highly expressed than statistically expected in HGMEC. Neurogranin, a direct target of thyroid hormone action which had been thought to be brain specific and never shown in endothelial cells before, fulfilled these criteria. Its expression in glomerular endothelium in vitro and in vivo was then verified by real-time-PCR, sequencing and immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: Our results represent an extensive molecular characterization of HGMEC beyond a mere database, underline the endothelial heterogeneity, and propose neurogranin as a potential link in the kidney-thyroid axis.

Evidence for a role of claudin 2 as a proximal tubular stress responsive paracellular water channel.

Claudins are the major proteins of the tight junctions and the composition of claudin subtypes is decisive for the selective permeability of the paracellular route and thus tissue specific function. Their regulation is complex and subject to interference by several factors, including oxidative stress. Here we show that exposure of cultured human proximal tubule cells (RPTEC/TERT1) to the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) induces an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), a decrease in dome formation (on solid growth supports) and a decrease in water transport (on microporous growth supports). In addition, CsA induced a dramatic decrease in the mRNA for the pore forming claudins -2 and -10, and the main subunits of the Na(+)/K(+) ATPase. Knock down of claudin 2 by shRNA had no discernable effect on TEER or dome formation but severely attenuated apical to basolateral water reabsorption when cultured on microporous filters. Generation of an osmotic gradient in the basolateral compartment rescued water transport in claudin 2 knock down cells. Inhibition of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase with ouabain prevented dome formation in both cell types. Taken together these results provide strong evidence that dome formation is primarily due to transcellular water transport following a solute osmotic gradient. However, in RPTEC/TERT1 cells cultured on filters under iso-osmotic conditions, water transport is primarily paracellular, most likely due to local increases in osmolarity in the intercellular space. In conclusion, this study provides strong evidence that claudin 2 is involved in paracellular water transport and that claudin 2 expression is sensitive to compound induced cellular stress.

Delineation of the key aspects in the regulation of epithelial monolayer formation.

The formation, maintenance, and repair of epithelial barriers are of critical importance for whole-body homeostasis. However, the molecular events involved in epithelial tissue maturation are not fully established. To this end, we investigated the molecular processes involved in renal epithelial proximal-tubule monolayer maturation utilizing transcriptomic, metabolomic, and functional parameters. We uncovered profound dynamic alterations in transcriptional regulation, energy metabolism, and nutrient utilization over the maturation process. Proliferating cells exhibited high glycolytic rates and high transcript levels for fatty acid synthesis genes (FASN), whereas matured cells had low glycolytic rates, increased oxidative capacity, and preferentially expressed genes for beta oxidation. There were dynamic alterations in the expression and localization of several adherens (CDH1, -4, and -16) and tight junction (TJP3 and CLDN2 and -10) proteins. Genes involved in differentiated proximal-tubule function, cilium biogenesis (BBS1), and transport (ATP1A1 and ATP1B1) exhibited increased expression during epithelial maturation. Using TransAM transcription factor activity assays, we could demonstrate that p53 and FOXO1 were highly active in matured cells, whereas HIF1A and c-MYC were highly active in proliferating cells. The data presented here will be invaluable in the further delineation of the complex dynamic cellular processes involved in epithelial cell regulation.

Application of integrated transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic profiling for the delineation of mechanisms of drug induced cell stress.

High content omic techniques in combination with stable human in vitro cell culture systems have the potential to improve on current pre-clinical safety regimes by providing detailed mechanistic information of altered cellular processes. Here we investigated the added benefit of integrating transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics together with pharmacokinetics for drug testing regimes. Cultured human renal epithelial cells (RPTEC/TERT1) were exposed to the nephrotoxin Cyclosporine A (CsA) at therapeutic and supratherapeutic concentrations for 14days. CsA was quantified in supernatants and cellular lysates by LC-MS/MS for kinetic modeling. There was a rapid cellular uptake and accumulation of CsA, with a non-linear relationship between intracellular and applied concentrations. CsA at 15µM induced mitochondrial disturbances and activation of the Nrf2-oxidative-damage and the unfolded protein-response pathways. All three omic streams provided complementary information, especially pertaining to Nrf2 and ATF4 activation. No stress induction was detected with 5µM CsA; however, both concentrations resulted in a maximal secretion of cyclophilin B. The study demonstrates for the first time that CsA-induced stress is not directly linked to its primary pharmacology. In addition we demonstrate the power of integrated omics for the elucidation of signaling cascades brought about by compound induced cell stress.

Oxidative stress induced by potassium bromate exposure results in altered tight junction protein expression in renal proximal tubule cells.

Potassium bromate (KBrO(3)) is an oxidising agent that has been widely used in the food and cosmetic industries. It has shown to be both a nephrotoxin and a renal carcinogen in in vivo and in vitro models. Here, we investigated the effects of KBrO(3) in the human and rat proximal tubular cell lines RPTEC/TERT1 and NRK-52E. A genome-wide transcriptomic screen was carried out from cells exposed to a sub-lethal concentration of KBrO(3) for 6, 24 and 72 h. Pathway analysis identified "glutathione metabolism", "Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress" and "tight junction (TJ) signalling" as the most enriched pathways. TJ signalling was less impacted in the rat model, and further studies revealed low transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and an absence of several TJ proteins in NRK-52E cells. In RPTEC/TERT1 cells, KBrO(3) exposure caused a decrease in TEER and resulted in altered expression of several TJ proteins. N-Acetylcysteine co-incubation prevented these effects. These results demonstrate that oxidative stress has, in conjunction with the activation of the cytoprotective Nrf2 pathway, a dramatic effect on the expression of tight junction proteins. The further understanding of the cross-talk between these two pathways could have major implications for epithelial repair, carcinogenesis and metastasis.

Carcinogens induce loss of the primary cilium in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells independently of effects on the cell cycle.

The primary cilium is an immotile sensory and signaling organelle found on the majority of mammalian cell types. Of the multitude of roles that the primary cilium performs, perhaps some of the most important include maintenance of differentiation, quiescence, and cellular polarity. Given that the progression of cancer requires disruption of all of these processes, we have investigated the effects of several carcinogens on the primary cilium of the RPTEC/TERT1 human proximal tubular epithelial cell line. Using both scanning electron microscopy and immunofluorescent labeling of the ciliary markers acetylated tubulin and Arl13b, we confirmed that RPTEC/TERT1 cells express primary cilium upon reaching confluence. Treatment with the carcinogens ochratoxin A (OTA) and potassium bromate (KBrO(3)) caused a significant reduction in the number of ciliated cells, while exposure to nifedipine, a noncarcinogenic renal toxin, had no effect on primary cilium expression. Flow cytometric analysis of the effects of all three compounds on the cell cycle revealed that only KBrO(3) resulted in an increase in the proportion of cells entering the cell cycle. Microarray analysis revealed dysregulation of multiple pathways affecting ciliogenesis and ciliary maintenance following OTA and KBrO(3) exposure, which were unaffected by nifedipine exposure. The primary cilium represents a unique physical checkpoint with relevance to carcinogenesis. We have shown that the renal carcinogens OTA and KBrO(3) cause significant deciliation in a model of the proximal tubule. With KBrO(3), this was followed by reentry into the cell cycle; however, deciliation was not found to be associated with reentry into the cell cycle following OTA exposure. Transcriptomic analysis identified dysregulation of Wnt signaling and ciliary trafficking in response to OTA and KBrO(3) exposure.

Transcriptomic alterations induced by Ochratoxin A in rat and human renal proximal tubular in vitro models and comparison to a rat in vivo model.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widely studied compound due to its role in renal toxicity and carcinogenicity. However, there is still no consensus on the exact mechanisms of toxicity or carcinogenicity. In the current study, we analysed the effect of OTA on three human renal proximal tubular models (human primary, RPTEC/TERT1 and HK-2 cells) and two rat renal proximal tubular models (rat primary and NRK-52E cells). Global transcriptomics analysis at two exposure times was performed to generate a set of 756 OTA sensitive genes. This gene set was then compared in more detail across all models and additionally to a rat in vivo renal cortex model. The results demonstrate a well-conserved response across all models. OTA resulted in deregulation of a number of pathways including cytoskeleton, nucleosome regulation, translation, transcription, ubiquitination and cell cycle pathways. Interestingly, the oxidative stress activated Nrf2 pathway was not enriched. These results point to an epigenetic action of OTA, perhaps initiated by actin binding as the actin remodelling gene, advillin was the highest up-regulated in all models. The largest model differences were observed between the human and the rat in vitro models. However, since the human in vitro models were more similar to the rat in vivo model, it is more likely that these differences are model-specific rather than species-specific per se. This study demonstrates the usefulness of in vitro cell culture models combined with transcriptomic analysis for the investigation of mechanisms of toxicity and carcinogenicity. In addition, these results provide further evidence supporting a non-genotoxic mechanism of OTA-induced carcinogenicity.

A framework program for the teaching of alternative methods (replacement, reduction, refinement) to animal experimentation.

Development of improved communication and education strategies is important to make alternatives to the use of animals, and the broad range of applications of the 3Rs concept better known and understood by different audiences. For this purpose, the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing in Europe (CAAT-Europe) together with the Transatlantic Think Tank for Toxicology (t(4)) hosted a three-day workshop on "Teaching Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation". A compilation of the recommendations by a group of international specialists in the field is summarized in this report. Initially, the workshop participants identified the different audience groups to be addressed and also the communication media that may be used. The main outcome of the workshop was a framework for a comprehensive educational program. The modular structure of the teaching program presented here allows adaptation to different audiences with their specific needs; different time schedules can be easily accommodated on this basis. The topics cover the 3Rs principle, basic research, toxicological applications, method development and validation, regulatory aspects, case studies and ethical aspects of 3Rs approaches. This expert consortium agreed to generating teaching materials covering all modules and providing them in an open access online repository.

Alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum: human platelet lysates as a serum substitute in cell culture media.

The search for alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell and tissue culture media has become a major goal in terms of the 3R principles in order to reduce or to avoid harvesting of FBS from bovine fetuses, and, in terms of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), to ensure safe and animal product-free conditions for biomedical tissue engineering and (adult) stem cell therapy, respectively. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of using platelet lysates (PL) as a substitute for FBS, based on the fact that most of the potent mitogenic factors present in serum are derived from activated thrombocytes. Platelet lysates were obtained from outdated human donor platelet concentrates. Methods were established to activate human donor platelets in order to achieve a maximum yield of platelet a-granule growth factors. Platelet lysates were successfully introduced to grow and maintain anchorage-dependent and -independent human and animal cell lines. For cell culture experiments, cells were either grown in culture media supplemented with 10% FBS, 5% PL, or under serum-free conditions. Growth experiments, viability assays, and platelet lysate-induced activation of ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase revealed platelet lysates as a valuable alternative to FBS in cell culture media.

An expert consortium review of the EC-commissioned report "alternative (Non-Animal) methods for cosmetics testing: current status and future prospects - 2010".

The European cosmetics legislation foresees a review in 2011 and possible postponement of the 2013 marketing ban to enforce the testing ban for systemic and repeated-dose animal tests. For this purpose, a 119-page report commissioned by the European Commission was published recently. Here, a group of 17 independent experts from the US, Europe, and Japan was brought together to evaluate the report. The expert panel strongly endorsed the report and its conclusions. A number of important options not considered were identified; these do not, however, affect the overall conclusions regarding the current lack of availability of a full replacement, especially for the areas of repeated dose toxicity, carcinogenicity testing, and reproductive toxicity, though a roadmap for change is emerging. However, some of these options may provide adequate data for replacement of some animal studies in the near future pending validation. Various recommendations expand the original report. The reviewers agree with the report that there is greater promise in the short term for the areas of sensitization and toxicokinetics. Additional opportunities lie in more global collaborations and the inclusion of other industry sectors.

Lactate is an ideal non-invasive marker for evaluating temporal alterations in cell stress and toxicity in repeat dose testing regimes.

Technological developments are driving in vitro methods towards integrated "omic" strategies. However, there is still an over reliance on classical viability assays for dose range finding. Such assays are not readily suited to the investigation of subtle alterations in cell function and most require termination of the experiment, which makes it difficult to monitor temporal alterations in repeat-dose long term exposure experiments. To this end, we investigated the use of lactate production as a marker of cell stress in long term repeat dose experiments. We conducted daily exposures to eight compounds at five concentrations for 14 days on human renal proximal tubular cells (RPTEC/TERT1), human hepatoma cells (HepaRG) and mouse fibroblasts (BALB-3T3) cells. Compounds were chosen from a training set used in the 7th EU Framework project Predict-IV and consisted of amiodarone, diclofenac, troglitazone, cadmium chloride, cephaloridine, cidofovir, cyclosporine A and buflomedil. At days 1, 3, 7 and 14, lactate was measured in the supernatant medium. At day 14, cells were assayed for resazurin reduction capability and subsequently lysed in methanol for ATP determination. Compound-induced loss of viability was comparable across all cell lines. For all cell types, when cell viability was compromised at day 14, lactate production was induced during the treatment period. In some situations, lactate also fell below control values, indicating cell death. Thus, temporal alterations in supernatant lactate provides information on the time and concentration of stress induction and the time and concentration where cell death becomes the dominant factor. Supernatant lactate production is a simple, cheap and non-invasive parameter. Since many molecular pathways converge on the glycolytic pathway, enhanced lactate production may be considered as a global marker of sub-lethal injury and thus an ideal marker for investigating temporal alterations in long term repeat dose testing in vitro regimes.

Identification and dissection of the Nrf2 mediated oxidative stress pathway in human renal proximal tubule toxicity.

The identification and dissection of cellular stress mechanisms is fundamental to understanding the susceptibility of the kidney to chemicals and pharmaceuticals and for the development of renal biomarkers indicative of sub lethal injury. Here, we utilised whole genome DNA microarrays in an attempt to uncover molecular mechanisms of response to nephrotoxin exposure. Human renal proximal tubular cells (HK-2) were treated for 12h and 48 h with 5 µM Cadmium (Cd), 30 µM Diquat Dibromide (Diq), and 5 µM Cyclosporine A (CsA). Nephrotoxin treatment resulted in an alteration of a total of 4608 transcripts. Ingenuity Pathways Analysis™ revealed the anti-oxidant and detoxification Nrf2 pathway as the most significantly enriched signaling pathway in the selected dataset. Activation of this transcription factor was confirmed as nuclear translocation and paralleled the temporal alterations of compound induced H(2)O(2) production. Transcriptomics, western blot and immunofluorescence showed an induction of both HO-1 and NQO1 with Cd and Diq exposure, but not with CsA treatment. Knockdown of Nrf2 by siRNA, reduced compound induced NQO1 mRNA to basal levels and attenuated toxin induced HO-1 mRNA expression. siRNA knock down of HO-1, but not NQO1, enhanced Cd induced H(2)O(2) production and Cd induced toxicity. Using an un-biased transcriptomic approach we have identified the Nrf2 pathway as the most significant signaling response in renal epithelial cells challenged with nephrotoxin. This study highlights the importance of this pathway and particularly HO-1 in renal epithelial adaptation to oxidative stress.

In vitro evaluation of the toxicity induced by nickel soluble and particulate forms in human airway epithelial cells.

Epidemiological studies show that exposure to nickel (Ni) compounds is associated with a variety of pulmonary adverse health effects, such as lung inflammation, fibrosis, emphysema and tumours. However, the mechanisms leading to pulmonary toxicity are not yet fully elucidated. In the current study we used Calu-3, a well differentiated human bronchial cell line, to investigate in vitro the effect of Ni in soluble form (NiCl(2)) and in the form of micro-sized Ni particles on the airway epithelium. For this purpose, we evaluated the effect of Ni compounds on the epithelial barrier integrity by monitoring the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and on oxidative stress pathways by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and induction of stress-inducible genes. Our results showed that exposure to NiCl(2) and Ni particles resulted in a disruption of the epithelial barrier function observed by alterations in TEER, which occurred prior to the decrease in cell viability. Moreover, Ni compounds induced oxidative stress associated with ROS formation and up-regulation of the stress-inducible genes, Metallothionein 1X (MT1X), Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), Heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX-1), and gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γGCS). Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the induced effects by Ni compounds can be partially attributed to the increase in Ni ions (Ni(2+)) intracellular levels.

Uromodulin facilitates neutrophil migration across renal epithelial monolayers.

The glycosylated protein uromodulin is exclusively found in the thick ascending limb cells (TAL) of the kidney, where it is produced on mass and apically targeted, eventually being secreted into the urine. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in this protein due to its ability to interact with the immune system, implicating this protein as a renal inflammatory molecule. Here we investigated the potential role of membrane bound uromodulin on neutrophil adhesion and trans-epithelial migration. The renal tubular epithelial cell line, LLC-PK1, stably transfected with human uromodulin was used to investigate the influence of uromodulin on neutrophil adherence and migration. Uromodulin expression resulted in a significant increase of neutrophil adherence and trans-epithelial migration, in both the apical to basolateral and the basolateral to apical direction. Although uromodulin is GPI anchored and targeted to the apical membrane, we could also observe expression in the basal and lateral membranes domains, which may be responsible for basolateral to apical migration. Furthermore we show that uromodulin binds both the heavy and light chain of IgG, and that IgG enhances neutrophil migration. This study demonstrates that uromodulin can facilitate neutrophil trans-epithelial migration and that this migration can be amplified by co-factors such as IgG.

Serum-free cell culture: the serum-free media interactive online database.

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is a ubiquitously used essential supplement in cell culture media. However, there are serious scientific and ethical concerns about the use of FBS regarding its harvest and production. During the last three decades, FBS could be substituted by other supplements or by the use of defined chemical components in serum-free cell culture. A number of serum-free medium formulations have been described for mammalian and insect cell lines as well as for primary cultures. However, the switch to serum-free media still demands a time-consuming literature survey and a manufacturer search for appropriate medium formulations, respectively. Here we present the second collection of commercially available serum-free media in an updated, freely accessible interactive online database. Searches for serum-free media and continuous cell lines already adapted to serum-free culture can be performed according to various criteria. These include the degree of chemical definition, e.g. serum-free (SF), animal-derived component free (ADCF) or chemically defined (CD), and the type of medium, e.g. basal media, medium supplements, or full replacement media. In order to specify the cell lines that are adapted to serum-free media, search terms like species, organ, tissue, cell type and disease can be used. All commercially available serum-free media and adapted cell lines currently available from major distributors (e.g. ATCC, ECACC and DMSZ) are included in the database. Despite an extensive search for serum-free media and adapted cell lines, detailed information from certain companies and suppliers is still lacking and is specifically highlighted. It is intended to create a platform for the interactive exchange of information and experience by experts in the field in order to continuously improve and extend the serum-free online database. The database is accessible at http://www.goodcellculture.com/

Differential effects of hypoxic stress in alveolar epithelial cells and microvascular endothelial cells.

Under hypoxic conditions eukaryotic cells and tissues undergo adaptive responses involving glycolysis, angiogenesis, vasoconstriction and inflammation. The underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated and are most likely cell and tissue specific. In the lung, alveolar epithelial cells and microvascular endothelial cells are highly sensitive to hypoxia and together orchestrate a rapid and sustained adaptive response. We examined the effect of different oxygen tensions on cell viability, glucose metabolism, key transcription factors and signaling molecules, in alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1). Both cell types tolerated hypoxia without detectable cell injury. Hypoxia induced glycolysis in both epithelial and microvascular endothelial cells, although A549 cells exhibited a higher rate of glucose consumption. The transcription factor CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) was activated with decreasing oxygen tensions in both cell types. This effect was again more marked in A549 cells, demonstrating epithelial cells to be more oxygen sensitive. Activating Transcription Factor 3 (ATF-3) was heavily induced by hypoxia in A549 cells but not in HMEC-1 cells. Both cell types exhibited hypoxia induced secretion of VEGF and IL-6. Secretion of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (ET1) was increased by hypoxia in HMEC-1 cells but decreased in A549 cells. These data reveal that both cell types exhibit an adaptive response to hypoxia but alveolar epithelial cells are generally more sensitive. ET-1 was oppositely regulated by decreased oxygen tensions in the investigated cell types. The present study further elucidates the adaptive molecular mechanisms in pulmonary hypoxia and demonstrates cell specific responses.

Characterisation of cadmium chloride induced molecular and functional alterations in airway epithelial cells.

Epidemiological studies show that cadmium (Cd) exposure causes pulmonary damage, such as emphysema, pneumonitis, and lung cancer. However, the mechanisms leading to pulmonary toxicity are not yet fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to further investigate cadmium chloride (CdCl(2)) induced toxicity using Calu-3 cells as an in vitro model of human bronchial epithelial cells. CdCl(2) induced effects following either apical or basolateral exposure were evaluated by Neutral Red Uptake (NRU), Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER), and alteration in Metallothionein 1X (MT1X), Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX-1) genes. CdCl(2) exposure resulted in a collapse of barrier function and the induction of MT1X, HMOX-1 and HSP70 genes, prior to alterations in cell viability. These effects were more pronounced when the exposure was from the basolateral side. Co-administration of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) exerted a strong protective effect against CdCl(2) induced barrier damage and stress related genes, while other antioxidants only attenuated CdCl(2) induced HSP70 and HMOX-1 and showed no protective effect on the barrier collapse. These findings indicate that CdCl(2) exposure is likely to impair Calu-3 barrier function at non cytotoxic concentrations by a direct effect on adherens junction proteins. The protective effect of NAC against CdCl(2) induced MT1X, HSP70 and HMOX-1 genes, demonstrates an anti-oxidant effect of NAC in addition to Cd chelation.