Activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK/SAPK) in LLC-PK1 cells by cadmium.

The level of phosphorylated c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) in LLC-PK1 cells treated with CdCl2 increased after 30 min and remained elevated even at 8 hr. And the activity of JNK assayed using glutathione S-transferase-c-Jun as substrate increased dose-dependently. Consistent with the JNK activation, marked increases in the levels of c-Jun and c-Jun phosphorylated on Ser63 and Ser73 were observed in cells treated with CdCl2. The pretreatment with an intracellular Ca2+ chelator, 1, 2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetra(acetoxymethyl) ester (BAPTA/AM), abolished cadmium-induced JNK phosphorylation. However, pretreatment with a cell permeable chelator of heavy metals, N,N,N', N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), did not. The present results showed that cadmium induces persistent activation of JNK pathway in a renal epithelial cell line, and that intracellular Ca2+ is necessary for the activation.