Medical & Clinical Research

Author(s): Maria Helena Bellini*, Alexandre Luiz de Souza, Fabio Ferreira da Silva, Sabine N Guilhen, Rafael Vicente de Padua Ferreira, Leandro Goulart de Araujo, Joao Ezequiel de Oliveira and Julio Takehiro Marumo

Cell line-based research is a valuable tool for the study of cancer physiopathology and the discovery of new drugs for use in clinical practice. In this study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to estimate Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Se, and Zn in epithelial tubular cells (HK-2) and kidney tumor cells (Caki-1 cells). The most relevant difference was a decrease in the contents of Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, and Zn. A significant accumulation of Co was also detected in Caki-1 cells. The fold change variation of each element concentration between HK-2 and Caki-1 cells was Ca (��?0.40), Co (1.37), Cu (��?0.68), Fe (��?0.56), K (��?0.40), Mg (��?0.41), Mn (-0.54), Na (��?0.33), P (��?0.31), S (��?0.26), and Zn (��?0.73). These findings indicate that the elements mainly affect the metabolic pathways of epithelial kidney cells. Thus, our findings open a new avenue for RCC target therapy.