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2959408 
Journal Article 
Effects Of Benzoquinone (BQ) On Cell Proliferation Via ERK/MAPK Signaling Pathway Activation And ROS Production 
Ruiz-Ramos, R; Cebrian, ME; Garrido, E 
2004 
1 
Toxicologist
ISSN: 0731-9193 
TOX/4001443 
78 
1-S 
English 
Benzene (BZ) is a hydrocarbon present in the atmospheric air, and is a common component of gasoline, tobacco smoke and other daily used petroleum derivative products as cosmetics, medicines, etc. In the last few years, BZ has been associated to blood and bone marrow pathologies, expressed as lymphocytopenia, pancytopenia, aplastic anemia and acute myelogenous leukemia. BZ metabolism produces BQ as well as free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are believed to be involved in the activation of signaling pathways that regulate transcription factors and the expression of genes that regulate proliferation, differentiation and apoptotic processes. BQ acute exposure induced cell growth, as measured by BrdU incorporation, in human promyelocytic HL-60 cells. This effect was related with increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, as measured by 2, 7-dichloro fluorescein diacetate oxidation. In addition, we detected ERK activation by using specific antibodies against phosphorylated ERKs proteins, suggesting the potential involvement of this pathway in BZ/BQ-induced proliferation.