title: Enhanced melphalan cytotoxicity following buthionine sulfoximine-mediated glutathione depletion in a human medulloblastoma xenograft in athymic mice.
abstract: The effect and therapeutic consequences of buthionine-(SR)-sulfoximine (BSO)-mediated depletion of glutathione in the human medulloblastoma-derived cell line, TE-671, growing as s.c. xenografts in athymic nude mice were examined. The glutathione content of the s.c. xenografts was 1.11 +/- 0.15 mumol/g (7.79 +/- 1.61 nmol/mg of protein). Administration i.p. to tumor-bearing mice of D,L-BSO (two doses at 12-h intervals; 5 mmol/kg) depleted the glutathione content of the xenografts to 25.7% of control. Administration of a 30 mM solution of L-BSO in drinking water for 96 h depleted the glutathione content to 17.4% of control. Depletion of glutathione with these regimens resulted in a significant increase in the s.c. tumor growth delay over that produced by melphalan alone: 17.2 days versus 12.6 days for D,L-BSO (i.p.) plus melphalan versus melphalan and 22.9 days versus 16.6 days for L-BSO (p.o.) plus melphalan versus melphalan. These studies demonstrate the increased cytotoxicity of melphalan resulting from BSO-mediated depletion of glutathione in human medulloblastoma and support further efforts to modulate the chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity of this tumor by modulation of glutathione.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
authors: S X
authors: SX
authors: Skapek
authors: O M
authors: OM
authors: Colvin
authors: O W
authors: OW
authors: Griffith
authors: G B
authors: GB
authors: Elion
authors: D D
authors: DD
authors: Bigner
authors: H S
authors: HS
authors: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019328:Buthionine Sulfoximine; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000032:analysis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008558:Melphalan / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008717:Methionine Sulfoximine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D008717:Methionine Sulfoximine; D019328:Buthionine Sulfoximine; D005978:Glutathione; D008558:Melphalan