title: The pyruvic acid analog 3-bromopyruvate interferes with the tetrazolium reagent MTS in the evaluation of cytotoxicity.
abstract: 3-Bromopyruvate (3BrPA) is a pyruvate analog known for its alkylating property. Recently, several reports have documented the antiglycolytic and anticancer effects of 3BrPA and its potential for therapeutic applications. 3BrPA-mediated cytotoxicity has been evaluated in vitro by various methods including tetrazolium salt (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide)-based assays such as MTT, MTS, and so on. However, growing body of evidences has shown that tetrazolium reagent may interfere with the test compounds. In this study, we investigated whether the tetrazolium reagent interferes with the assessment of 3BrPA cytotoxicity. The results of the tetrazolium-based MTS assay were compared with 3 distinct cell viability detection methods, that is, Trypan Blue staining, ATP depletion, and Annexin V staining in 2 different cell lines, Vx-2 and HepG2. The MTS assay data showed false positive results by indicating increased cell viability at 1 mM and 2 mM 3BrPA whereas the other cell viability assays demonstrated that both Vx-2 and HepG2 cells are not viable at the same treatment conditions. In order to validate the direct interaction of 3BrPA with MTS reagent, we tested cell-free media incubated with different concentrations of 3BrPA. The results of cell-free media showed an increase in absorbance in a dose-dependent manner confirming the interaction of MTS with 3BrPA. Thus, our data clearly demonstrate that 3BrPA interferes with the accuracy of MTS-based cytotoxicity evaluation. Hence, we suggest that employing multiple methods of biochemical as well as morphological cytotoxicity assays is critical to evaluate 3BrPA-mediated cell death.
authors.affiliation: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
authors.forename: Shanmugasundaram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ganapathy-Kanniappan
authors.forename: Jean-Francois H
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Geschwind
authors.forename: Rani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kunjithapatham
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buijs
authors.forename: Labiq H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.forename: Pramod P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vali
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017304:Annexin A5 / Q000378:metabolism; D001681:Biological Assay; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D011773:Pyruvates / Q000737:chemistry*; D011817:Rabbits; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000737:chemistry*; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017304:Annexin A5; D004396:Coloring Agents; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D011773:Pyruvates; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; C017092:bromopyruvate; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; C022616:thiazolyl blue