Transcriptome Analysis of the Immortal Human Keratinocyte HaCaT Cell Line Damaged by Tritiated Water

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Tritium is one of the most abundant radioactive elements in nuclear waste and is difficult to remove. In addition, tritiated water can enter an organism through the skin, respiratory and digestive systems. Tritiated water damages a large portion of organs or even causes cancer due to internal radiation. In our study, the changes in the cell viability of the immortal human keratinocyte HaCaT cell line after exposure to tritiated water were investigated, and the related molecular mechanisms were analyzed using sequencing technology and bioinformatics methods. Meanwhile, a Western blot assay was conducted to verify some of the sequencing results. The results provide a theoretical basis for researching the mechanisms of tritiated water hazards. ABSTRACT: Radioactive elements, such as tritium, have been released into the ocean in large quantities as a result of the reactor leakage accident. In this study, an MTT assay demonstrated that the viability of HacaT cells decreased after tritiated water treatment. Bioinformatics analysis was used to analyze gene changes in the HacaT cells. The sequencing results showed 267 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and GO enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly divided into three parts. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the up-regulated DEGs were involved in Wnt and other pathways, while the down-regulated DEGs were involved in Jak–STAT and others. A Western blot assay was used to verify the parts of the sequencing results. This study was the first to explore the mechanism of tritiated water on HacaT cells using Transcriptome analysis. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the study of tritiated water hazard mechanisms.