Cell-specific and dose-dependent effects of PAHs on proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis protein expression and hormone secretion by placental cell lines.

In the preset study we measured the concentrations of 16 priority PAHs in maternal blood and placental tissue by using the GC-MS/MS system, and investigated the effects of selected PAHs (naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene) and mixtures on BeWo and JEG-3 human placental cell line proliferation (Alamar Blue), cytotoxicity (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (XTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acid phosphatase (AP), endocrine activity (progesterone and estradiol secretion) and apoptosis (cyclin A1, cyclin D2, cdk 2, cdk 4, Bcl-xl, Bax, and caspase-3 protein expression). The concentrations of 16 PAHs in maternal blood were higher than in placental tissue. In JEG-3 cells except for naphthalene, all PAHs studied and their mixtures at maternal doses, and only naphthalene at placental doses, increased XTT, while in BeWo cells, placental doses increased XTT and AP activity. A cell-type dependent action: a proapoptotic effect (increased Bax and caspase-3) in BeWo cells and an antiapoptotic effect (decreased Bax and increased cdk2 and cyclin D1) in JEG-3 cells was observed. Naphthalene, pyrene, and phenanthrene exhibited an endocrine-disrupting effect in JEG3 cells but not in BeWo cells. Our results provide evidence of cell specific effects of selected low molecular weight PAHs on proliferation, the cell cycle, proapoptotic protein expression, and hormone secretion.