Article Aberrant Expression of ZIP and ZnT Zinc Transporters in UROtsa Cells Transformed to Malignant Cells by Cadmium Soisungwan Satarug 1,2,*, Scott H. Garrett 2, Seema Somji 2, Mary Ann Sens 2 and Donald A. Sens 2 1 Kidney Disease Research Collaborative, Centre for Health Service Research, The University of Queensland Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Brisbane 4102, Australia 2 Department of Pathology, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA;
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[email protected] Abstract: Maintenance of zinc homeostasis is pivotal to the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and defense mechanisms. In mammalian cells, control of cellular zinc homeostasis is through zinc uptake, zinc secretion, and zinc compartmentalization, mediated by metal transporters of the Zrt-/Irt-like protein (ZIP) family and the Cation Diffusion Facilitators (CDF) or ZnT family. We quantified transcript levels of ZIP and ZnT zinc transporters expressed by non-tumorigenic UROtsa cells and compared with those expressed by UROtsa clones that were experimentally transformed to cancer cells by prolonged exposure to cadmium (Cd). Although expression of the ZIP8 gene in parent UROtsa cells was lower than ZIP14 (0.1 vs. 83 transcripts per 1000 β-actin transcripts), an increased expression of ZIP8 concurrent with a reduction in expression of one or two zinc influx transporters, namely ZIP1, ZIP2, and ZIP3, were seen in six out of seven transformed UROtsa clones.