title: Multiple factors conferring high radioresistance in insect Sf9 cells.
abstract: Sf9, a lepidopteran cell line isolated from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, was shown to be significantly more resistant to growth inhibition and apoptosis induction effects of x-ray irradiation than several human cell lines of different origins. The single-cell electrophoresis technique revealed that Sf9 cells showed lower x-ray irradiation-induced DNA damage as well as better efficiency at repairing these damages. In addition, Sf9 cells were lower in both background and x-ray irradiation-induced intracellular oxidative stress, in which the higher intracellular level of reduced glutathione seemed to play a major role. The significance of oxidative stress in determining the radioresistance of Sf9 cells was confirmed by their being more resistant to hydrogen peroxide while equally susceptible to other non-reactive oxygen species of N-nitroso alkylating agents when compared with a human cell line. Although the Sf9 and human cell lines were equally susceptible to the lethal effects of N-nitroso alkylating agents, the components of DNA damage-induced and the repair enzymes involved significantly differ. This phenomenon is also discussed in this report.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: I-Cheng
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: How-Jing
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000477:Alkylating Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D000477:Alkylating Agents; D005978:Glutathione