Alteration in protein synthesis in primary cultures of rat kidney proximal tubule epithelial cells by exposure to gallium, indium, and arsenite.

Patterns of protein synthesis in primary cultures of rat kidney proximal epithelial tubule cells were examined following exposure to gallium (Ga) chloride, indium (In) chloride, and sodium arsenite. After incubation with these chemicals for 20 hr, newly synthesized proteins were labeled with [35S]methionine. 35S-labeled proteins in the cells were separated by SDS/polyacrylamide gel and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and detected by fluorography. A protein with molecular weight (Mr) of 30,000 was markedly induced by exposure to 300 microM Ga or 10 microM arsenite, and synthesis of proteins with Mr of 85,000, 71,000, 65,000, 51,000, 38,000, and 28,000 was also increased by Ga or arsenite. Arsenite exposure increased synthesis of eight different proteins, which were not induced by Ga. No significant changes in protein synthesis were observed with 300 microM In exposure. Release of lactate dehydrogenase from the cells was not significantly increased by exposure to concentrations of 300 microM Ga and 3 microM arsenite or less. In the absence of overt cell injury, the induction of these proteins may be useful as an early indicator for assessing exposure to Ga.