Effects of trace metals on mouse B16 melanoma cells in culture

The effects of fourteen metal ions (As³⁺, As⁵⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cr³⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Hg²⁺, Li⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Se⁴⁺, V⁵⁺, VO²⁺) on the proliferation and differentiation in mouse B16 melanoma cells cultivated in vitro were analyzed. Cell number assays, melanin, and protein measurements, a 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction test (MTT survival test), and a clonal growth assay were performed. At 10⁻⁴ M, metal ions such as As³⁺, As⁵⁺, Cd²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Se⁴⁺, V⁵⁺, VO²⁺, and, to a minor extent, Li⁺, Hg²⁺, and Co²⁺ significantly reduced the number of the B16 melanoma cells. For the same molar concentration, the order of the levels of cell toxicity of the metal compounds to B16 cells as measured by the MTT test was as follows: Hg²⁺>Cr⁶⁺=Cd²⁺>As³⁺, As⁵⁺>V⁵⁺, VO²⁺>Se⁴⁺=Ni²⁺=Co²⁺=Li⁺. An increased synthesis of melanin in B16 cells was noted after incubation with Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Li⁺, whereas Se⁴⁺ had, on the contrary, an inhibiting effect on melanogenesis.