This study analyzes the uptake and antiproliferative effect of two different chemical forms of iodine, iodide (I−) and molecular iodine (I2), in MCF-7 cells, which are inducible for the Na+/I− symporter (NIS) and positive for pendrin (PDS). The mouse fibroblast cell line NIH3T3 was used as control. Our results show that in MCF-7 cells, I− uptake is sustained and dependent on NIS, whereas I2 uptake is transient with a maximal peak at 10 min and a final retention of 10% of total uptake. In contrast, no I− was taken up by NIH3T3 cells, and although I2 was captured with the same time pattern as in MCF-7 cells, its uptake was significantly lower, and it was not retained within the cell. The uptake of I2 is independent of NIS, PDS, Na+, and energy, but it is saturable and dependent on protein synthesis, suggesting a facilitated diffusion system. Radioiodine was incorporated into protein and lipid fractions only with I2 treatment. The administration of non-radiolabeled I2 and 6-iodo-5-hydroxy-8,11,14-eicosatrienoic acid (6-iodolactone, an iodinated arachidonic acid), but not KI, significantly inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 cells. Proliferation of NIH3T3 cells was not inhibited by 20 μM I2. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that I2 uptake does not depend on NIS or PDS; they suggest that in mammary cancer cells, I2 is taken up by a facilitated diffusion system and then covalently bound to lipids or proteins that, in turn, inhibit proliferation.

Studies in mammary cancer demonstrated that moderately high concentrations of molecular iodine (I2) have a antiproliferative and apoptotic effect either in vivo as in vitro, however the cellular intermediated involved in these effects has not been elucidated.

Candida glabrata , a common opportunistic fungal pathogen, adheres efficiently to mammalian epithelial cells in culture. This interaction in vitro depends mainly on the adhesin Epa1, one of a large family of cell wall proteins. Most of the EPA genes are located in subtelomeric regions, where they are transcriptionally repressed by silencing. In order to better characterize the transcriptional regulation of the EPA family, we have assessed the importance of C. glabrata orthologues of known regulators of subtelomeric silencing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To this end, we used a series of strains containing insertions of the reporter URA3 gene within different intergenic regions throughout four telomeres of C. glabrata . Using these reporter strains, we have assessed the roles of SIR2 , SIR3 , SIR4 , HDF1 (yKu70), HDF2 (yKu80), and RIF1 in mediating silencing at four C. glabrata telomeres. We found that, whereas the SIR proteins are absolutely required for silencing of the reporter genes and the native subtelomeric EPA genes, the Rif1 and the Ku proteins regulate silencing at only a subset of the analyzed telomeres. We also mapped a cis element adjacent to the EPA3 locus that can silence a reporter gene when placed at a distance of 31 kb from the telomere. Our data show that silencing of the C. glabrata telomeres varies from telomere to telomere. In addition, recruitment of silencing proteins to the subtelomeres is likely, for certain telomeres, to depend both on the telomeric repeats and on particular discrete silencing elements.

Previous reports have documented the antiproliferative properties of I₂ and the arachidonic acid (AA) derivative 6-iodolactone (6-IL) in both thyroid and mammary glands. In this study, we characterized the cellular pathways activated by these molecules and their effects on cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in normal (MCF-12F) and cancerous (MCF-7) breast cells. Low-to-moderate concentrations of I₂ (10–20 μM) cause G1 and G2/M phase arrest in MCF-12F and caspase-dependent apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. In normal cells, only high doses of I₂ (40 μM) induced apoptosis, and this effect was mediated by poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) and the apoptosis-induced factor, suggesting an oxidative influence of iodine at high concentrations. Our data indicate that both I₂ and 6-IL trigger the same intracellular pathways and suggest that the antineoplasic effect of I₂ in mammary cancer involves the intracellular formation of 6-IL. Mammary cancer cells are known to contain high concentrations of AA, which might explain why I₂ exerts apoptotic effects at lower concentrations only in tumoral cells.

Candida glabrata is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that can cause severe invasive infections and can evade phagocytic cell clearance. We are interested in understanding the virulence of this fungal pathogen, in particular its oxidative stress response. Here we investigated C. glabrata, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans responses to two different oxidants: menadione and cumene hydroperoxide (CHP). In log-phase, in the presence of menadione, C. glabrata requires Cta1p (catalase), while in a stationary phase (SP), Cta1p is dispensable. In addition, C. glabrata is less resistant to menadione than C. albicans in SP. The S. cerevisiae laboratory reference strain is less resistant to menadione than C. glabrata and C. albicans; however S. cerevisiaeclinical isolates (CIs) are more resistant than the lab reference strain. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae CIs showed an increased catalase activity. Interestingly, in SP C. glabrata and S. cerevisiae are more resistant to CHP than C. albicans and Cta1p plays no apparent role in detoxifying this oxidant.