Effects of sodium arsenite on catalase activity, gene and protein expression in HaCaT cells

The objective of this research work is to study the effects of sodium arsenite on activity, mRNA and protein expression of catalase (CAT) in established human cell lines of keratinocytes (HaCaT). Based on the AlamarBlue assay, we found that a high level (100 μmol/l) of sodium arsenite inhibited cell viability. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) content in cells was increased in all treated cultures dose-dependently. CAT activity, mRNA expression and protein levels were decreased by 5–20 μmol/l of sodium arsenite. It is highly suggestive that CAT gene expression and protein levels are affected by arsenic.