Oxidative stress can damage organs, tissues, and cells through reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oxidizing DNA, proteins, and lipids, thereby resulting in diseases. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, employing scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), we explored the early responses of human embryonic kidney (HEK293H) cells to oxidative DNA damage induced by potassium chromate (K2CrO4). We found that the short term (1-2 h) exposure to a low concentration (10 μM) of K2CrO4 damaged the lipid membrane of HEK293H cells, resulting in structural defects and depolarization of the cell membrane and reducing cellular secretion activity shortly after the treatment. We further demonstrated that the K2CrO4 treatment decreased the expression of the cytoskeleton protein, β-actin, by inducing oxidative DNA damage in the exon 4 of the β-actin gene. These results suggest that K2CrO4 caused oxidative DNA damage in cytoskeleton genes such as β-actin and reduced their expression, thereby disrupting the organization of the cytoskeleton beneath the cell membrane and inducing cell membrane damages. Our study provides direct evidence that oxidative DNA damage disrupted human cell membrane integrity by deregulating cytoskeleton gene expression.
Keywords: cell membrane; chromate; oxidative DNA damage; oxidative stress; scanning ion conductance microscopy; β-actin.