Characteristics of lead adaptation in a rat kidney cell line. II. Effect on DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and gene expression.

The effects of adaptation of normal rat kidney cells (NRK 52-E) to growth in 5 or 10 microM lead nitrate on the rates of DNA synthesis and on the rate and pattern of protein synthesis was studied. The rate of [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA was increased in normal cells, but remained unchanged in one lead-adapted cell line (only 5 microM NRK studied). Increased rates of [3H]leucine incorporation into nonadapted NRK cells were found only at times up to 3 h; in contrast, the lead-adapted cells showed such increases only at longer times. The most pronounced differences between normal and lead-adapted cells were found with lead concentrations of 10 or 50 microM lead nitrate. Lead-adapted control cells incorporated 170% of the [3H]leucine taken up by nonadapted cells. In both adapted and nonadapted cells the pattern of synthesis of specific proteins showed varied and dose-dependent differences between the three cell sublines examined. The changed sensitivity of both DNA and protein synthesis following lead exposure appears to be a potent parameter in the development of resistance, perhaps through the development of specific lead-binding proteins.