SR-2508 plus buthionine sulfoximine or SR-2508 alone: effects on the radiation response and the glutathione content of a human tumor xenograft

This study determined the radiosensitivity of the human tumor xenograft HT29 and its glutathione (GSH) and cysteine (CYS) contents after treatment with both buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and SR-2508 or SR-2508 alone. Tumor radiosensitivity was assessed by the in vitro colony assay and thiol content was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The radiosensitizing effect of SR-2508 is dose dependent and increases when higher doses of radiation are given. SR-2508 given alone does not modify GSH and CYS content; however, when given with BSO, the GSH level is significantly reduced, yet radiosensitivity of the HT29 tumor is only slightly increased. These results have been compared to our previously observed results of HT29 treatment with misonidazole (MISO), BSO, or MISO + BSO.     

Effects of glutathione depletion by buthionine sulfoximine on radiosensitization by oxygen and misonidazole in vitro

Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) has been used to deplete glutathione (GSH) in V79-379A cells in vitro, and the effect on the efficiency of oxygen and misonidazole (MISO) as radiosensitizers has been determined. Treatment with 50 or 500 microM BSO caused a rapid decline in GSH content to less than 5% of control values after 10 hr of exposure (t1/2 = 1.6 hr). Removal of BSO resulted in a rapid regeneration of GSH after 50 microM BSO, but little regeneration was observed over the subsequent 10-hr period after 500 microM. Treatment with either of these two concentrations of BSO for up to 14 hr did not affect cell growth or viability. Cells irradiated in monolayer on glass had an oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) of 3.1. After 10-14 hr pretreatment with 50 microM BSO, washed cells were radiosensitized by GSH depletion at all oxygen tensions tested. The OER was reduced to 2.6, due to greater radiosensitization of hypoxic cells than aerated ones by GSH depletion. GSH depletion had the effect of shifting the enhancement ratio vs pO2 curve to lower oxygen tensions, making oxygen appear more efficient by a factor of approximately 2, based on the pO2 required to give an OER of 2.0. In similar experiments performed with MISO, an enhancement ratio of 2.0 could be achieved with 0.2 mM MISO in anoxic BSO-pretreated cells, compared to 2.7 mM MISO in non-BSO-treated cells. Thus MISO appeared to be more efficient in GSH-depleted cells by a factor of 13.5. These apparent increases in radiosensitizer efficiency in GSH-depleted cells could be explained on the basis of radiosensitization of hypoxic cells by GSH depletion alone (ER = 1.29-1.41). The effect of GSH depletion was approximately equal at all sensitizer concentrations tested, except at high oxygen tensions, where the effect was insignificantly small. These results are consistent with hypoxic cell radiosensitization by GSH depletion and by MISO or oxygen acting by separate mechanisms.     

Glutathione depletion by DL-buthionine-SR-sulfoximine (BSO) potentiates X-ray-induced chromosome lesions after liquid holding recovery

The impact of intracellular glutathione depletion on chromosome damage induced by X irradiation under aerobic conditions was investigated in two different cell lines, Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EATC) and Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1). Thiol-depleted cell cultures in plateau phase were obtained by prolonged incubation in growth medium containing DL-buthionine-SR-sulfoximine (BSO), a specific inhibitor of gamma-glutamyl-cysteine synthetase. Cells were then assayed using the procedures of G. L. Ellmann (Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 82, 70-77 (1959)), F. Tietze (Anal. Biochem. 27, 502-522 (1969)), and J. Sedlack and R.H. Lindsay (Anal. Biochem. 25, 192-205 (1968)) for non-protein bound SH (NPSH), glutathione (GSH), and total SH (TSH). In both cell lines GSH was reduced to less than 10% of controls at higher BSO concentrations around 1 mM, whereas TSH and NPSH were affected to only 40-60%. In EATC pretreated with up to 1 mM BSO for 72 h, increased levels of spontaneously occurring micronuclei were found. At BSO concentrations above 200 microM, both cell lines showed a potentiation of chromosome lesions scored as micronuclei and induced under aerobic X irradiation when liquid holding recovery in the original nutrient-depleted medium was performed; the extent of chromosome damage eventually reached that which could be obtained by application of beta-arabinofuranosyladenine (beta-araA), known to inhibit DNA repair processes by blocking DNA polymerases. It is therefore suggested that GSH depletion causes impairment of repair of lesions leading to chromosome deletions and subsequently to micronuclei. In contrast to CHO cell cultures, EATC showed a reversion of the potentiation effect as indicated by a decrease in the micronucleus content during prolonged incubation in the presence of BSO in the millimolar range. This effect could not be correlated to the remaining GSH content of less than 10% but may be due to some accumulation of unknown NPSH components. Since addition of L-cysteine to EATC cultures pretreated with BSO decreased the micronucleus content, cysteine/cystine or a related thiol within the NPSH fraction may be involved in the reestablishment of repair. Thus at least in one cell line, a rather complex response to BSO administration indicated that not only GSH but also other thiols may determine the level of chromosome damage after liquid holding recovery.     

Combined effect of misonidazole and glutathione depletion by buthionine sulphoximine on cellular radiation response

Chinese hamster cells (V79) and glutathione-proficient (GSH+/+) and glutathione-deficient (GSH-/-) human fibroblasts were treated with a glutathione (GSH)-depleting agent buthionine sulphoximine (BSO) and the hypoxic radiosensitizer misonidazole (MISO), separately or in combination. Subsequently, the cells were exposed to X-rays. Determination of the yield of single-strand DNA breaks (ssb) immediately after irradiation indicated no effect of BSO or MISO treatment when radiation exposure was made aerobically. Assuming that ssb determined immediately after irradiation reflects mainly the effect of radical processes, the results obtained with BSO and MISO, singly and in combination, agreed well with the predictions of a modified version of the 'competition model' using V79 and GSH+/+ cells. Some results obtained with GSH-/- cells could not be so explained.     

The influence of thiols on the pre-irradiation incubation effect of nitroimidazoles in E. coli cells

The increase in the degree of radiosensitization of Escherichia coli cells following prolonged pre-irradiation incubation with nitroimidazoles is not correlated with the loss of intracellular non-protein thiols (NPSH) alone. The rates of reduction of the nitro compounds and the NPSH removal do not show strong dependencies on the lipophilicities of the nitroimidazoles whereas the highly lipophilic compound RGW-609 effects an increase in radiosensitization in a much shorter incubation time than the other nitroimidazoles. Exogenous dithiothreitol (DTT) increased the rate of reduction of misonidazole in the cells but did not alter the fraction converted to the amine. Added DTT (0.15 mmol dm-3) completely protected against the pre-irradiation incubation effect of misonidazole (2.5 mmol dm-3) when added at the start of the incubation but only partially protected when added before irradiation. It is suggested that NPSH can intercept metabolite(s) (or their precursors) of nitroimidazoles which can potentiate cell killing by radiation.     

Glutathione depletion, radiosensitization, and misonidazole potentiation in hypoxic Chinese hamster ovary cells by buthionine sulfoximine

Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) inhibits the synthesis of glutathione (GSH), the major nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) present in most mammalian cells. BSO concentrations from 1 microM to 0.1 mM reduced intracellular GSH at different rates, while BSO greater than or equal to 0.1 mM (i.e., 0.1 to 2.0 mM), resulting in inhibitor-enzyme saturation, depleted GSH to less than 10% of control within 10 hr at about equal rates. BSO exposures used in these experiments were not cytotoxic with the one exception that 2.0 mM BSO/24 hr reduced cell viability to approximately 50%. However, alterations in either the cell doubling time(s) or the cell age density distribution(s) were not observed with the BSO exposures used to determine its radiosensitizing effect. BSO significantly radiosensitized (ER = 1.41 with 0.1 mM BSO/24 hr) hypoxic, but not aerobic, CHO cells when the GSH and NPSH concentrations were reduced to less than 10 and 20% of control, respectively, and maximum radiosensitivity was even achieved with microM concentrations of BSO (ER = 1.38 with 10 microM BSO/24 hr). Furthermore, BSO exposure (0.1 mM BSO/24 hr) also enhanced the radiosensitizing effect of various concentrations of misonidazole on hypoxic CHO cells.     

Attempted modulation of disulfide antitumor activity in Balb/c mice through glutathione depletion

We investigated the effects of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO)-mediated glutathione (GSH) depletion on the antitumor activity in Balb/c mice produced by four disulfide derivatives of 6-TG and 6-MP. Initial studies indicated that 14 h after BSO (5 mmol/kg) injections, tumor GSH levels were maximally depleted, while normal tissue GSH levels had returned to near control levels. Tumor growth delays and growth rates were compared for groups of animals receiving disulfides I-IV with and without BSO administration 14 h previous. Treatments with BSO alone produced no delay or growth rate differences from the control. Compounds II or III administered in the presence and absence of BSO also produced no delay or growth rate differences from control. Compound I (10 mg/kg) alone showed a delay of 5.2 days and a growth rate significantly slower than that of control (p = 0.05). In combination with BSO the effects were not enhanced. Compound IV (50 mg/kg) also produced delays in 2 separate trials (3.1 and 4.8 days) and significantly slower growth rates on each occasion compared to the control (p = 0.05). The growth rates were not significantly lowered in the presence of BSO. Administration of two doses of IV, 4 days apart, produced a delay (4.9 days) similar to that seen with a single dose. It produced 2 cures and was also more toxic, causing 3 deaths. Two doses of IV in combination with BSO pretreatment had a greater delay (16.0 days) and a significantly longer growth rate (p = 0.05) than two doses of IV alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Radiosensitization in multifraction schedules. II. Greater sensitization by 2-nitroimidazoles than by oxygen

The objective of this study was to characterize the extent of and mechanisms involved in radiosensitization by 2-nitroimidazoles in multifraction schedules using low doses per fraction. For this purpose, contact-inhibited monolayers of C3H 10T1/2 cells were given 1.7 Gy every 12 h and plated 12 h after the last dose received to allow full repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD). Severe hypoxia was obtained by a 1-h gassing procedure at room temperature immediately before each irradiation. No toxicity occurred as a consequence of multiple exposures to 5 mM misonidazole (MISO) or SR 2508 (2508) during the deoxygenation procedure. Experimental conditions during the pregassing and irradiation (presence of drug and gas mixture) were appropriately manipulated to test for the different mechanisms of radiosensitization demonstrated by nitroimidazoles. A very low oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) results under these conditions (1.34). Exposure to 5 mM MISO or 2508 during the deoxygenation and irradiation of hypoxic cells resulted in greater radiosensitization than could be accounted for by oxygen-mimetic sensitization alone (MISO and 2508 enhancement ratios were greater than the OER). Pregassing cells with N2 in the presence of 5 mM drug sensitized cells which were subsequently irradiated under aerobic conditions (drug free), indicating the occurrence of the "preincubation effect" (which does not require hypoxia or the drug's presence during the irradiation). Thus, for the hypoxic irradiations, the preincubation effect could account for the greater sensitization by nitroimidazoles than by oxygen. The presence of 5 mM drug only during the irradiation of aerobic cells produced radiosensitization in both multifraction and single-dose experiments with delayed plating. This sensitization has been previously shown to involve reduced PLD repair. Finally, maximum radiosensitization occurred in the multifraction schedule when a transient period of hypoxia with drug preceded an aerobic irradiation with drug present, thus combining the benefits of both the preincubation effect and PLD repair inhibition. This work demonstrates the possibility that effects other than oxygen-mimetic radiosensitization could be largely responsible for the sensitization seen in multifraction schedules, particularly when the OER is already low and only transient periods of hypoxia occur.     

The role of glutathione in the aerobic radioresponse. I. Sensitization and recovery in the absence of intracellular glutathione

The effect of changes in both the intracellular glutathione (GSH) concentration and the concentration of extracellular reducing equivalents on the aerobic radiosensitization was studied in three cell lines: CHO-10B4, V79, and A549. Intracellular GSH was metabolically depleted after the inhibition of GSH synthesis by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), while the extracellular environment was controlled through the replacement of growth medium with a thiol-free salt solution and in some experiments by the exogenous addition of either GSH or GSSG. Each of the cell lines examined exhibited an enhanced aerobic radioresponse when the intracellular GSH was extensively depleted (GSH less than 1 nmol GSH/10(6) cells after 1.0 mM BSO/24 h treatment) and the complexity of the extracellular milieu decreased. Although the addition of oxidized glutathione (5 mM GSSG/30 min) to cells prior to irradiation was without effect, much or all of the induced radiosensitivity was overcome by the addition of reduced glutathione (5 mM GSH/15 min). However, the observation that the exogenous GSH addition restores the control radioresponse without increasing the intracellular GSH concentration was entirely unexpected. These results suggest that a number of factors exert an influence on the extent of GSH depletion and determine the extent of aerobic radiosensitization. Furthermore, the interaction of exogenous GSH with--but without penetrating--the cell membrane is sufficient to result in radiorecovery.     

Radiosensitization by hypoxic pretreatment with misonidazole: an interaction of damage at the DNA level

Prolonged exposures to misonidazole (MISO) in vitro under hypoxic conditions result in radiosensitization which is characterized by a decrease in the size of the radiation survival curve shoulder for cells irradiated under hypoxic or aerobic conditions after drug removal. Although intracellular glutathione (GSH) was depleted during hypoxic exposures to MISO, this could not account for the dose-additive radiosensitization (decrease in shoulder size) since GSH depletion by diethylmaleate had no effect on the sensitivity of cells irradiated in air. The alkaline elution assay was used to measure DNA strand breaks and their repair after exposure to MISO, graded doses of X rays, and the combination of MISO pretreatment with X rays. The elution rate of DNA from irradiated cells increased linearly with X-ray dose, with and without MISO pretreatment. However, the DNA elution rates measured after MISO pretreatment were greater by a constant amount at all X-ray doses greater than 1 Gy. In terms of both cell survival and DNA elution rate, MISO-pretreated cells behaved as though they had received an extra 1.5 Gy. Although the initial damage after X rays was greater in MISO-pretreated cells, there was no effect of MISO pretreatment on the rate of repair of radiation-induced DNA strand breaks. The agreement between the differences in survival levels and DNA elution rates for irradiated control and MISO-pretreated cells and absence of an effect on DNA repair rates suggest that the pretreatment sensitization is due to an additive interaction of damage at the DNA level.     

The role of thiols in cellular response to radiation and drugs

Cellular nonprotein thiols (NPSH) consist of glutathione (GSH) and other low molecular weight species such as cysteine, cysteamine, and coenzyme A. GSH is usually less than the total cellular NPSH, and with thiol reactive agents, such as diethyl maleate (DEM), its rate of depletion is in part dependent upon the cellular capacity for its resynthesis. If resynthesis is blocked by buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine(BSO), the NPSH, including GSH, is depleted more rapidly, Cellular thiol depletion by diamide, N-ethylmaleimide, and BSO may render oxygenated cells more sensitive to radiation. These cells may or may not show a reduction in the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER). Human A549 lung carcinoma cells depleted of their NPSH either by prolonged culture or by BSO treatment do not show a reduced OER but do show increased aerobic responses to radiation. Some nitroheterocyclic radiosensitizing drugs also deplete cellular thiols under aerobic conditions. Such reactivity may be the reason that they show anomalous radiation sensitization (i.e., better than predicted on the basis of electron affinity). Other nitrocompounds, such as misonidazole, are activated under hypoxic conditions to radical intermediates. When cellular thiols are depleted peroxide is formed. Under hypoxic conditions thiols are depleted because metabolically reduced intermediates react with GSH instead of oxygen. Thiol depletion, under hypoxic conditions, may be the reason that misonidazole and other nitrocompounds show an extra enhancement ratio with hypoxic cells. Thiol depletion by DEM or BSO alters the radiation response of hypoxic cells to misonidazole. In conclusion, we propose an altered thiol model which includes a mechanism for thiol involvement in the aerobic radiation response of cells. This mechanism involves both thiol-linked hydrogen donation to oxygen radical adducts to produce hydroperoxides followed by a GSH peroxidase-catalyzed reduction of the hydroperoxides to intermediates entering into metabolic pathways to produce the original molecule.     

Changes in organ nonprotein sulfhydryl and glutathione concentrations during acute and chronic administration of inorganic lead to chicks

The effects of dietary and injected lead (Pb) on organ nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) and glutathione (GSH) concentrations in the chick were studied. Lead acetate·3H₂O was administered either in the diet for 3 wk at 2000 ppm Pb or by intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 3-wkold chicks with 52 mg Pb/100 g body wt. In Exp. 1, NPSH concentrations in liver and kidney were increased by both dietary and injected Pb in comparison to chicks not receiving Pb. Thigh muscle NPSH was decreased by injected Pb, whereas dietary Pb had no effect. In Expt. 2, whole blood and plasma NPSH were measured at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 h following ip Pb injection. Both whole blood and plasma NPSH were increased by 30 min. Whole blood NPSH concentrations plateaued at 30 min, and plasma NPSH continued to rise for 2 h. In Expt. 3, injected Pb increased hepatic NPSH, but not GSH concentrations. The ratio of GSH/NPSH was therefore lowered. The incorporation of [1-¹⁴C]glycine into hepatic GSH was stimulated by injected Pb. Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, reduced hepatic NPSH and [¹⁴C]glycine incorporation in Pb-treated chicks to below control (non-Pb injected) values. In Expt. 4, dietary Pb fed for 3 wk increased the hepatic concentrations of both NPSH and GSH such that the ratio of GSH/NPSH was unchanged in comparison to chicks not fed Pb. The data suggest that the initial response to acute Pb intoxication may involve a mobilization of nonprotein thiols via the interorgan translocation system for GSH. Such a response would help to maintain adequate levels of GSH in organs crucial to detoxification.     

Depletion of glutathione after gamma irradiation modifies survival

The relationship between the intracellular glutathione (GSH) concentration and the aerobic radiation response was studied in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Various degrees of GSH depletion were produced by exposure to buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and/or diethyl maleate (DEM). Diethyl maleate did not act as a classical radiosensitizer under the experimental conditions employed, nor did exposure to DEM/BSO nonspecifically affect protein thiols as measured by thiol blotting. Dose-response curves were obtained using cells irradiated in the absence or presence of DEM/BSO, which decreased GSH levels by 90-95%. Exposure to DEM/BSO did not affect the formation of DNA single-strand breaks or DNA-protein crosslinks measured immediately after irradiation performed at ice temperatures. Analysis of survival curves indicated that the Dq was decreased by 18% when GSH depletion occurred prior to, during, and after irradiation. The DEM/BSO exposure did not affect D0. To study postirradiation conditions, cells were exposed to 10 microM DEM prior to and during irradiation, which was performed at ice temperatures. Levels of GSH were depleted by 75% by this protocol. Immediately after irradiation, the cells were rapidly warmed by the addition of 37 degrees C growth medium containing either 10 or 90 microM DEM. Addition of 10 microM DEM after irradiation did not affect the degree of depletion, which remained constant at 75%. In contrast, GSH depletion was increased to 90% 10 min after addition of the 90 microM DEM. Addition of 90 microM DEM after irradiation produced a statistically significant difference in survival compared to addition of 10 microM DEM. In a second depletion protocol, cells were exposed to 100 microM DEM at room temperature for 5 min, irradiated, incubated at 37 degrees C for 1 h, washed, and then incubated in 50 microM BSO for 24 h. This depletion protocol reduced survival by a factor of 2.6 compared to cells not exposed to the combination of DEM/BSO. Survival was not affected if the cells were exposed to the DEM or BSO alone. This was interpreted to indicate that survival was not affected by GSH depletion occurring after irradiation unless depletion was rapid and sustained. The rate of repair of sublethal and potentially lethal damage was measured and found to be independent of the DEM/BSO exposure. These experimental results in addition to previous ones (Freeman and Meredith, Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 13, 1371-1375, 1987) were interpreted to indicate that under aerobic conditions GSH depletion may alter the expression of radiation damage by affecting metabolic fixation.     

p-Aminophenol-induced liver toxicity: tentative evidence of a role for acetaminophen

p-Aminophenol (PAP) is a widely used industrial chemical and a metabolite of analgesics, such as acetaminophen (APAP). It was found recently that PAP, a known nephrotoxicant, could cause acute hepatotoxicity in mice but not in rats. The mechanism of hepatotoxicity is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of N-acetylation of PAP to APAP in PAP-induced toxicity. Male C57BL/6 mice injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with various doses of PAP were sacrificed at 12 hours for measurement of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) levels and determination of the extent of hepatic nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) and glutathione (GSH) depletion. Plasma levels of APAP and its metabolites were measured by HPLC after PAP administration. p-Aminophenol depleted NPSH in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Depletion of NPSH in mouse liver occurred at PAP doses above 400 mg/kg. Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, potentiated the PAP-induced hepatotoxicity. Ascorbate, a reducing agent, did not affect PAP-induced hepatotoxicity and NPSH depletion. After PAP treatment, APAP and its sulfate and glucuronide conjugates as well as GSH conjugates (APAP-cysteine and APAP-mercapturate) were detected in the plasma. The results suggest the roles of GSH and N-acetylation of PAP to APAP in PAP-induced hepatotoxicity.     

The influence of oxygen on the induction of radiation damage in DNA in mammalian cells after sensitization by intracellular glutathione depletion

Treatment of mammalian cells with buthionine sulphoximine (BSO) or diethyl maleate (DEM) results in a decrease in the intracellular GSH (glutathione) and non-protein-bound SH (NPSH) levels. The effect of depletion of GSH and NPSH on radiosensitivity was studied in relation to the concentration of oxygen during irradiation. Single- and double-strand breaks (ssb and dsb) and cell killing were used as criteria for radiation damage. Under aerobic conditions, BSO and DEM treatment gave a small sensitization of 10-20 per cent for the three types of radiation damage. Also under severely hypoxic conditions (0.01 microM oxygen in the medium) the sensitizing effect of both compounds on the induction of ssb and dsb and on cell killing was small (0-30 per cent). At somewhat higher concentrations of oxygen (0.5-10 microM) however, the sensitization amounted to about 90 per cent for the induction of ssb and dsb and about 50 per cent for cell killing. These results strengthen the widely accepted idea that intracellular SH-compounds compete with oxygen and other electron-affinic radiosensitizers with respect to reaction with radiation-induced damage, thus preventing the fixation of DNA damages by oxygen. These results imply that the extent to which SH-compounds affect the radiosensitivity of cells in vivo depends strongly on the local concentration of oxygen.     

Glutathione requirement for the rejoining of radiation-induced DNA breaks in misonidazole-treated cells

The role of glutathione (GSH) in the rejoining of radiation-induced single-strand DNA breaks (ssb) was studied in human fibroblast cultures sensitized to radiation by a 30 min treatment with 1 mM misonidazole (MISO). Hypoxically irradiated cells, deficient in GSH, either inherently, or due to a 16 h incubation with 1 mM buthionine sulphoximine (BSO), rejoined the breaks after MISO treatment at a lower rate and to a lesser extent than did GSH-proficient cells. Without MISO treatment, the hypoxically induced ssb were rejoined in the GSH-deficient cells as effectively as in the proficient cells. It is concluded that a large proportion of the breaks which arise after hypoxic irradiation in the presence of MISO are of a different type to those which arise in the absence of the drug, and require a particular GSH-dependent, enzymatic repair system. This requirement for rejoining in hypoxically irradiated, MISO-treated cells is similar to that seen earlier in MISO-untreated, oxically irradiated cells, and suggests that the ssb induced by radiation in the presence of MISO or oxygen are of a similar nature.     

Differential sensitivities of murine melanocytes and melanoma cells to buthionine sulfoximine and anticancer drugs.

High levels of intracellular glutathione (GSH) may result in resistance of tumor cells to cytotoxic drugs. Because of the innate refractory nature of melanoma cells to chemotherapy, we have used a syngeneic murine system consisting of nontumorigenic Mel-ab melanocytes, tumorigenic H-ras-transformed melanocytes (C9.1), and the highly metastatic BL6 melanoma cells to examine the GSH content, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, and sensitivity to buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and other cytotoxic drugs. Compared to the nontumorigenic melanocytes, both C9.1 and BL6 melanoma cells have nearly fivefold higher GSH content, and BL6 cells have increased GST activity. C9.1 and BL6 cells are more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of BCNU and adriamycin; however, the degrees of resistance do not reflect the increased GSH content in these cells. Pretreatment of BL6 melanoma cells with 50 microM BSO depleted over 90% of their GSH content and enhanced the growth-inhibitory effects of L-dopa methylester, BCNU, bleomycin, and dacarbazine. Exposure to BSO alone was not toxic to the tumor cells for up to 24 hr, but was significantly cytotoxic in the melanocytes after 9 hr. The sensitivity of these cells to BSO appears to depend on a critical level of GSH depletion which is not related to the initial GSH content. These studies suggest that the resistance of melanoma cells to cytotoxic drugs is only partially attributed to changes in the GSH system caused during cellular transformation.     

Radiation response of drug-resistant variants of a human breast cancer cell line: the effect of glutathione depletion

Two drug-resistant variants of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 have been shown previously to exhibit radiation resistance associated with an increase in the size of the shoulder on the radiation survival curve. In the present study, glutathione (GSH) depletion was achieved by exposure of cells to buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) with, in some cases, additional treatment with dimethyl fumarate. Levels of GSH in the adriamycin-resistant subline MCF-7 ADRR are initially lower than in the other two sublines and are depleted to a greater extent by exposure to BSO. Wild-type MCF-7 cells are not sensitized by GSH depletion when irradiated under aerated conditions but are sensitized under hypoxic conditions to an extent which is related to the level of GSH depletion. In contrast both the drug-resistant sublines (MCF-7 ADRR and the melphalan-resistant line MCF-7 MLNR) are radiosensitized by GSH depletion under both aerated and hypoxic conditions. It is hypothesized that in the case of the MCF-7 ADRR cell line, which expresses high levels of the GSH-associated redox enzyme systems, GSH-S-transferase and GSH-peroxidase (GSH-Px), radiosensitization results when GSH-Px is inhibited in GSH-depleted cells. The reasons for radiosensitization of aerated MCF-7 MLNR cells cannot be explained on this basis, however, and other factors are being examined.     

Differential cell death and Bcl-2 expression in the mouse retina after glutathione decrease by systemic D,L-buthionine sulphoximine administration

Glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in cellular defense against unregulated oxidative stress in mammalian cells including neurons. We previously demonstrated that GSH decrease using [D, L]-buthionine sulphoximine (BSO) induces retinal cell death, but the underlying mechanisms of this are still unclear. Here, we demonstrated that retinal GSH level is closely related to retinal cell death as well as expression of an anti-apoptotic molecule, Bcl-2, in the retina. We induced differential expression of retinal GSH by single and multiple administrations of BSO, and examined retinal GSH levels and retinal cell death in vivo. Single BSO administration showed a transient decrease in the retinal GSH level, whereas multiple BSO administration showed a persistent decrease in the retinal GSH level. Retinal cell death also showed similar patterns: transient increases of retinal cell death were observed after single BSO administration, whereas persistent increases of retinal cell death were observed after multiple BSO administration. Changes in the retinal GSH level affected Bcl-2 expression in the retina. Immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses showed that single and multiple administration of BSO induced differential expressions of Bcl-2 in the retina. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that the retinal GSH is important for the survival of retinal cells, and retinal GSH appears to be deeply related to Bcl-2 expression in the retina. Thus, alteration of Bcl-2 expression may provide a therapeutic tool for retinal degenerative diseases caused by retinal oxidative stress such as glaucoma or retinopathy.     

Effects of cyclophosphamide and buthionine sulfoximine on ovarian glutathione and apoptosis

Treatment with the anticancer drug cyclophosphamide (CPA) destroys ovarian follicles. The active metabolites of CPA are detoxified by conjugation with glutathione (GSH). We tested the hypotheses that CPA causes apoptosis in ovarian follicles and that suppression of ovarian GSH synthesis before CPA administration enhances CPA-induced apoptosis. Proestrous rats were given two injections, 2 h apart, with (1) saline, then saline; (2) saline, then 50 mg/kg CPA; (3) saline, then 300 mg/kg CPA; or (4) 5 mmol/kg buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) to inhibit glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL), the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis, and then 50 mg/kg CPA. Statistically significantly increased DNA fragmentation by agarose gel electrophoresis and granulosa cell apoptosis by TUNEL were observed in the CPA-treated ovaries 24 h after the second injection, but BSO did not enhance the effect of 50 mg/kg CPA. We next tested the hypothesis that CPA depresses ovarian GSH concentration and expression of the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis, GCL. Proestrous rats were injected with 300 or 50 mg/kg CPA or vehicle and were sacrificed 8 or 24 h later. After CPA treatment, ovarian and hepatic GSH levels decreased significantly, and ovarian GCL subunit mRNA levels increased significantly. There were no significant changes in GCL subunit protein levels. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that GSH depletion causes apoptosis in ovarian follicles. Proestrous or estrous rats were injected with 5 mmol/kg BSO or saline at 0700 and 1900 h. There was a significant increase in the percentage of histologically atretic follicles and a nonsignificant increase in the percentage of apoptotic, TUNEL-positive follicles 24 h after onset of BSO treatment. Our results demonstrate that CPA destroys ovarian follicles by inducing granulosa cell apoptosis and that CPA treatment causes a decline in ovarian GSH levels. More pronounced GSH suppression achieved after BSO treatment did not cause a statistically significant increase in follicular apoptosis. Thus, GSH depletion does not seem to be the mechanism by which CPA causes follicular apoptosis.