Hydrogen peroxide cytotoxicity under conditions of normal or reduced catalase activity in H 2O 2-sensitive and -resistant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell variants

Abstract

H 2O 2-sensitive and -resistant sublines of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were tested for their sensitivity to the growth inhibitory effect elicited by increasing concentrations of the oxidant under conditions of normal or reduced catalase activity. Experimental results have demonstrated that, under conditions of reduced catalase activity, the cytotoxic action of H 2O 2 was differentially regulated in resistant and sensitive cells. Indeed, the parental cell line and cells resistant to low concentrations of H 2O 2 (V 250 cells) depended on catalase to a lower extent than did highly resistant cells (V 850 cells). It is interesting to note that V 250 cells had more catalase, on a per million cell basis, than V 850 cells. We conclude that acquired resistance to oxidative stress is not entirely dependent on catalase and that the contribution of catalase depends on the degree of resistance to the oxidant.