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Differences in the growth inhibition of cultured K-562 cells by selenium, mercury or cadmium in two tissue culture media (RPMI-1640, Ham's F-10)

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Abstract

Effects of some metals on the growth of cultured human erythroleukemia K-562 cells were investigated when grown in two different types of media based upon RPMI-1640 or Ham's F-10. The study on proliferation, using RPMI-1640 supplemented with sodium selenite, selenomethionine, mercuric chloride, methylmercuric chloride and cadmium nitrate showed no inhibition of growth at concentrations of 2.5, 25, 25, 2.5 and 25 μM, while at 75, 250, 50, 5 and 50 μM toxicity was apparent. Selenite at 5–50 μM and selenomethionine at 50–100 μM inhibited the growth. In Ham's F-10 supplemented with the same compounds no inhibition was found at concentrations of 5, 10, 25, 1 and 50 μM, while at 50, 100, 50, 5 and 75 μM toxic effects were noted. Selenite 10 μM and selenomethionine 25-50 μM inhibited the proliferation. Measurements of trace element levels in pellets of K-562 cells grown in RPMI-1640 or Ham's F-10 unveiled higher cell contents of cadmium and selenium in cells grown in RPMI-1640, being consistent with higher concentrations of these elements in that medium. Manganese and mercury concentrations were higher in cells grown in Ham's F-10 correlating with a higher medium concentration of these elements. The growth responses and cellular uptake differed between the metals and the selenocompounds and although extrapolating the results to humans is difficult the selenium exposures were in approximately the same order of magnitude as in human exposures. The compounds could be ranked according to decreasing toxicity as: methylmercuric chloride > mercuric chloride, cadmium nitrate, sodium selenite > selenomethionine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Radiology and Clinical Immunology, Biomedical Radiation Sciences, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden

    Peter Frisk, Amer Yaqob, Jörgen Carlsson & Ulf Lindh

  2. Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden

    Amer Yaqob

  3. Centre for Metal Biology in Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

    Kenneth Nilsson

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  1. Peter Frisk
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  5. Ulf Lindh
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Frisk, P., Yaqob, A., Nilsson, K. et al. Differences in the growth inhibition of cultured K-562 cells by selenium, mercury or cadmium in two tissue culture media (RPMI-1640, Ham's F-10). Biometals 13, 101–111 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009222625616

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