Cadmium is a heavy metal that is classified by the international center for cancer research in humans as a high-risk metal. the aim of this study was to evaluate the cadmium activated alpha-estrogen intracellular receptor which has estrogenic effects of cadmium, and the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of n-acetylcysteine as an inhibitor of cadmium on cadmium-activated alpha-estrogen receptor.
Methods
The human uterine cervical cancer cell line, hella, was purchased from the pasteur institute of iran and cultured in a culture medium with high glucose called dmem. then, the expression of alpha-estrogen receptor gene expression in these cells by rt-pcr and real-time pcr was investigated before and after intervention by cadmium chloride and n-acetylcysteine. the results of this study were compared by multiple anova tests in spss software version 22.
Results
The expression of alpha-estrogen receptor gene expression after treatment with cadmium chloride in the case groups showed a significant increase compared to the control group (p <0.0001). after treatment with n-acetylcysteine at concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7 and 10 nm, it was able to inhibit cadmium effects in increasing expression of alpha-estrogen receptor expression (p <0.0001).
Conclusion
From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the cadmium element at concentrations above 1 nm can increase the progression of cervical cancer by inducing the expression of alpha-estrogen receptor gene expression. on the other hand, n-acetylcysteine at concentrations above 2.5 nm can inhibit cadmium effects in increasing the expression of α-estrogen receptor.
