Trace metals alter DNA repair and histone modification pathways concurrently in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Exposure to metals alters gene expression, changes transcription rates or interferes with DNA repair mechanisms. We tested a hypothesis to determine whether in vitro acute metal exposure, with or without recovery, alters epigenetic pathways in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. We measured cell viability, total and histone protein production, changes in gene expression for differentiation and DNA repair, and histone lysine mono-methylation (H3K27me1), in differentiated cells.