Walker carcinosarcoma cells damage endothelial cells by the generation of reactive oxygen species

The passage of circulating tumor cells across vessel walls is an important step in cancer metastasis and is promoted by endothelial injury. Because Walker carcinosarcoma 256 (W256) cells generate oxygen-derived free radicals after cellular activation, the authors tested the hypothesis that these cancer cells can damage endothelial monolayers by producing such reactive oxygen species. To confirm that oxygen-derived radicals can damage endothelial cells, 3H-2-deoxyglucose-labeled human endothelial cell monolayers were exposed to xanthine oxidase in the presence of 0.2 mmol/l xanthine. 3H-2-deoxyglucose release was observed after the addition of xanthine oxidase in concentrations ranging from 6.5 x 10(-3) to 52 x 10(-3) units/ml. The extent of damage correlated with xanthine oxidase-dependent chemiluminescence (r = 0.91). Chemiluminescence assays in the presence of 5 x 10(-5) M luminol confirmed activation of the W256 cells by 1 x 10(-6) M chemotactic peptide fMLP. When fMLP-activated activated W256 cells were incubated with endothelial monolayers, concentrations of 2 x 10(6) to 6 x 10(6) W256 cells/ml were found to cause a 27% increase in the specific release of 2-deoxyglucose after a 90-minute incubation. A small but significant increase in 3H-2-deoxyglucose release also was observed in the absence of fMLP. Detection of 3H-2-deoxyglucose release in the presence of activated or unactivated tumor cells was dependent on preincubating the endothelial cell monolayer with 1 mM buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis. Under these conditions, the specific release of 3H-2-deoxyglucose was increased from nondetectable levels to 21%, in the presence of 6.5 x 10(-3) units of the oxidase. Cultured W256 cells promoted isotope release from endothelial cell monolayers when activated with phorbol myristate acetate. Catalase (1000 units/ml) inhibited the tumor cell-induced release of 3H-2-deoxyglucose by 84% whereas superoxide dismutase, even at concentrations of 1 mg/ml, had no effect. A requirement for cell contact was shown because addition of cell-free supernatants from fMLP activated tumor cells did not cause 3H-2-deoxyglucose release and because pretreatment of W256 cells with 1 microM cytochalasin B inhibited their ability to promote isotope release even while increasing tumor cell-generated chemiluminescence threefold. Electron microscopy revealed that fewer cytochalasin B-treated W256 cells were attached to the endothelial cell monolayer than in untreated controls. It is concluded that the W256 tumor cells can damage endothelial cells directly via a mechanism involving production of reactive oxygen species.