skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Diethyldithiocarbamate enhancement of radiation and hyperthermic effects on Chinese hamster cells in vitro. [By inhibition of superoxide dismutase activity thus enhancing superoxide radical toxicity in the cells]

Journal Article · · Radiat. Res.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3575161· OSTI ID:6082836

To test the possibility of enhancing O/sub 2/- toxicity during radiation therapy and/or hyperthermia, Chinese hamster cells (Don) were treated with the drug diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) in vitro. This drug has been shown to inhibit, both in vitro and in vivo, the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) which is responsible for eliminating the 0/sub 2/- radical in cells. We observed that the cytocidal effect of DDC on Don cells is dependent on both DDC concentration and exposure time. After 8 to 10 days of incubation with 10/sup -9/ M DDC, no change in cell survival was noted; however, incubation with 10/sup -4/ M DDC produced a marked loss in colony formation. When DDC-treated cells were ..gamma..-irradiated, they did not survive as well as cells that were treated with either radiation or DDC alone. The combined effects of hyperthermia and DDC were dramatic. Cells treated 5 min at 43/sup 0/C with 10/sup -4/ M DDC or 10 min at 43/sup 0/C with 10/sup -5/ M DDC showed significant decrease in survival. These results suggest that DDC may be a potentially powerful sensitizing agent in tumor therapy, since there is increasing evidence that tumor cells have a lower level of superoxide dismutase.

Research Organization:
Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
OSTI ID:
6082836
Journal Information:
Radiat. Res.; (United States), Vol. 77:3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Enhancement of oxygen toxicity by diethyldithiocarbamate on Chinese hamster and mouse cells
Conference · Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979 · Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6082836

Combined effect of diethyldithiocarbamate (DCC) and modest hyperthermia on Chinese hamster (V79) cell survival and DNA strand break repair following photon irradiation
Journal Article · Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984 · Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6082836

Enhancement of radiosensitizing effect of the nitroimidazole derivative RK28 on the proliferation of MethA tumor cells in combined use with diethyldithiocarbamate
Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Life Sciences; (United States) · OSTI ID:6082836