Nickel and copper ion-induced stress signaling in human hepatoma cells: analysis of phosphoinositide 3'-kinase/Akt signaling

Nickel compounds may act as carcinogens, affecting both initiation and promotion stages of carcinogenesis due, in large parts, to their capability of inducing DNA damage and of modulating cellular signaling cascades known to affect cellular proliferation, respectively. We have previously demonstrated that the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling cascade is stimulated in cells exposed to copper ions, resulting in phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion of FoxO transcription factors. Here, human hepatoma cells were exposed to nickel or copper ions, followed by comparative analysis of PI3K/Akt-dependent signaling. Exposure of hepatoma cells to copper ions resulted in extensive oxidation of cellular glutathione, while no such effect was detected with nickel ions. Similarly, copper ions were more than 100-fold more toxic to cells than nickel, as deduced from analyses of colony forming abilities. Despite this lack of oxidative and cytotoxic action, exposure of hepatoma cells to Ni2+ resulted in a significant activation of Akt that was abrogated by inhibitors of PI3K. Interestingly, activation of Akt-although coincident with a phosphorylation of Akt substrates, such as glycogen synthase kinase-3-did not result in significant nuclear exclusion of FoxO1a. In line with this finding, no significant modulation of the activity of a FoxO-responsive promoter construct was observed in cells exposed to nickel ions. In summary, exposure of HepG2 human hepatoma cells to nickel ions results in stimulation of the Ser/Thr kinase Akt in a PI3K-dependent fashion, activation most likely being independent of oxidative processes. In sharp contrast to copper ions, nickel-induced Akt activation is not propagated further downstream to FoxO-dependent signaling beyond the phosphorylation of FoxO1a and 3a.