title: Oxygen enhances lethal effect of high-intensity, ultrashort electrical pulses.
abstract: The study explored the effect of ambient oxygen on mammalian cell survival after exposure to 10 ns duration, high voltage electrical pulses (nsEP, 80-90 or 120-130 kV/cm; 200-400 pulses per exposure). Cell samples were equilibrated with pure nitrogen, atmospheric air, or pure oxygen prior to the nsEP treatment and were returned to the incubator (air + 5% CO2) shortly after the exposure. The experiments established that survival of hypoxic Jurkat and U937 cells exceeded that of air-equilibrated controls about twofold (P < .01). Conversely, saturation of the medium with oxygen prior to exposure decreased Jurkat cell survival about 1.5 times, P < .01. Attenuation of the cytotoxic effect under hypoxic conditions resembled a well-known effect of oxygen on cell killing by sparsely ionizing radiations and may be indicative of the similarity of underlying cell damage mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: US Army Medical Research Detachment, Brooks City-Base, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Kerfoot
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Olga N
authors.initials: ON
authors.lastname: Pakhomova
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: Karl S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Schoenbach
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Stuck
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Andrei G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Pakhomov
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D010100:Oxygen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020298:U937 Cells
chemical_list: D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D010100:Oxygen