Chronic human exposure to nonovertly toxic doses of arsenic is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Although its carcinogenic mechanism is still unknown, arsenic does not directly cause DNA damage or mutations and is therefore thought to act principally as a co-mutagen, co-carcinogen, and/or tumor promoter. Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that effects of low-dose arsenic (III) (arsenite) on expression of the hormone-regulated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene were strongly associated with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-mediated regulatory pathway. We therefore examined specifically the effects of arsenite on the biochemical function of GR in hormone-responsive H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. Completely noncytotoxic arsenite treatments (0.3-3.3 microM) significantly decreased dexamethasone-induced expression of transiently transfected luciferase constructs containing either an intact hormone-responsive promoter from the mammalian PEPCK gene or two tandem glucocorticoid response elements (GRE). Western blotting and confocal microscopy of a green fluorescent protein-tagged-GR fusion protein demonstrated that arsenite pretreatment did not block the normal dexamethasone-induced nuclear translocation of GR. These data indicate that nontoxic doses of arsenite can interact directly with GR complexes and selectively inhibit GR-mediated transcription, which is associated with altered nuclear function rather than a decrease in hormone-induced GR activation or nuclear translocation.

Metal-responsive transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) is a zinc finger protein that activates transcription in response to heavy metals such as Zn(II), Cd(II) and Cu(I) and is also involved in the response to hypoxia and oxidative stress. MTF-1 recognizes a specific DNA sequence motif termed the metal response element (MRE), located in the promoter/enhancer region of its target genes. The functional domains of MTF-1 include, besides the DNA-binding and activation domains and signals for subcellular localization (NLS and NES), a cysteine cluster 632CQCQCAC638 located near the C-terminus. Here we show that this cysteine cluster mediates homodimerization of human MTF-1, and that dimer formation in vivo is important for basal and especially metal-induced transcriptional activity. Neither nuclear translocation nor DNA binding is impaired in a mutant protein in which these cysteines are replaced by alanines. Although zinc supplementation induces MTF-1 dependent transcription it does not per se enhance dimerization, implying that actual zinc sensing is mediated by another domain. By contrast copper, which on its own activates MTF-1 only weakly in the cell lines tested, stabilizes the dimer by inducing intermolecular disulfide bond formation and synergizes with zinc to boost MTF-1 dependent transcription.

Arsenic, considered a human carcinogen (1-4), is present in high concentrations at many toxic waste sites through disposal of arsenic-containing compounds from industrial and mining practices. In addition, arsenic can accumulate in groundwater and well water from natural sources. Certain geological formations contain high levels of arsenic that can easily leach into groundwater and find their way into wells and other public water supplies (5). This has been a major problem in certain parts of the world including areas of Taiwan, South America, India, and Pakistan. Epidemiological studies of these populations have demonstrated a significant increase in the risk of lung, skin, liver, bladder, and other cancers associated with high levels of arsenic in drinking water (1-4), and most of the world's arsenic standards are based on risk assessment models of these data from high-exposure populations. More recently it has become apparent that regions of the United States have similar sources of natural arsenic that can contribute to elevated drinking-water levels, including areas of New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, and California (6,7). For example, in New Hampshire, where 40% of the population drinks from private wells, as much as 8% of the population (one-fifth of all private well users) is exposed to arsenic levels between the current standard of 50 ppb

Metal-mediated protein oligomerization is an emerging mode of protein-protein interaction. The C-terminal cytosolic domains of T-cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8α form zinc-bridged heterodimers with the N-terminal region of the kinase Lck, with each protein contributing two cysteinate ligands to the complex. Using size exclusion chromatography, 1H NMR, and UV/visible absorption spectroscopy with cobalt(II) as a spectroscopic probe, we demonstrate that small peptides derived from these regions form metal-bridged heterodimers but also homodimers, in contrast to previous reports. The Lck-CD4 and Lck-CD8α cobalt(II)-bridged heterodimer complexes are more stable than the corresponding (Lck)2cobalt(II) complex by factors of 11 ± 4 and 22 ± 9, respectively. These studies were aided by the discovery that cobalt(II) complexes with a cobalt(II)(-Cys-X-X-Cys-)(-Cys-X-Cys-) chromophore show unusual optical spectra with one component of the visible d to d (4A2 to 4T1(P)) transition red-shifted and well separated from the other components. These results provide insights into the basis of specificity of metal-bridged complex formation and on the potential biological significance of metal-bridged homodimers in T-cells.