Study of the effect of boric acid on the NFKB signal transduction pathway using the transgenic HEK293 cell line integrated with the NFKB-GFP marker system

Aim: The research was carried out to determine the potential of boric acid, which is known to have many metabolic and biochemical effects on human health, to regulate the NF-kB pathway, which is a key regulator of inflammatory responses. Material and Method: In this study, transgenic HEK293 cells with integrated NF-κB-GFP marker system were used as a model. In this direction, suitable amounts of TNFα and boric acid were determined for the study. Then, the effect of boric acid on TNFα stimulated and activated NF-kB signal transduction pathway compared to the control group was investigated. The capacity of boric acid to regulate the NF-kB pathway was determined by flow cytometric analysis. The mean and standard deviation of the GFP density of TNFα and boric acid-treated cells were calculated from three independent biological experiments. Two-sample position t-test was used for statistical tests. Results: Since the HEK293 cells used in this study had a GFP cassette integrated into their genome, some GFP expression was observed in the control group by flow cytometric analysis. When given specific doses of TNFα, 6-8 times more intense GFP expression was determined in the cells compared to the control group (p<0.0001), while when only boric acid was applied, equal or less intense GFP expression was observed in the cells compared to the control group (p<0.05). When TNFα and different doses of boric acid were given together, it was observed that the GFP density decreased compared to the TNFα group (p<0.05). Conclusion: As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that boric acid treatment in HEK293 cells alone did not make an effective difference compared to the control, while boric acid treatment had a decreasing effect on NF-kB activation in the pathway activated by TNFα.