Differential cytotoxicity of selenite for tumor cells can be achieved by differential depletion of cellular glutathione

Conference · Mon Mar 11 04:00:00 EST 1991 · FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States)

OSTI ID:5372119

Caffrey, P B; Abdullaev, F; Frenkel, G D ^[1]

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1. Rutgers-the State Univ., Newark, NJ (United States)

The authors have previously shown with HeLa cells that the inhibitory effect of selenite on nucleic acid synthesis and colony formation can be decreased by lowering the level of cellular sulfhydryl (SH) compounds, suggesting that this level can be a determining factor in the sensitivity of a cell to selenite. To investigate whether manipulation of cellular SH levels could be used to achieve a differential effect of selenite on tumor cells vs normal cells, the authors utilized two human cell lines: A549 cells and 210 cells. The level of SH compounds in A549 cells is normally 5 times that of 210 cells. However, since A549 cells are less sensitive than 210 cells to depletion of glutathione by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), after BSO treatment, A549 cells contain 70 times more SH than 210 cells. The authors have found that under normal conditions the two cell types had the same sensitivity to the inhibitory effect of selenite on colony formation. However, after BSO treatment the A549 cells were significantly more sensitive than the 210 cells to the inhibition of colony formation by selenite. Thus, differential depletion of intracellular glutathione resulted in a differential sensitivity of the tumor cells to selenite cytotoxicity.

• OSTI ID: 5372119
• Report Number(s): CONF-9104107--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States) Journal Volume: 5:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMALS
BIOLOGICAL VARIABILITY
COLONY FORMATION
DRUGS
ELEMENTS
GENETIC VARIABILITY
GLUTATHIONE
INHIBITION
MAMMALS
MAN
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PEPTIDES
POLYPEPTIDES
PRIMATES
PROTEINS
RADIOPROTECTIVE SUBSTANCES
SELENIUM
SEMIMETALS
SENSITIVITY
TOXICITY
TUMOR CELLS
VERTEBRATES