Oxygen metabolite-induced cytotoxicity to cultured rat gastric mucosal cells

Reactive oxygen metabolites have been reported to be responsible for the pathogenesis of ischemia-induced gastric mucosal lesions. We have investigated the possible protective effect of specific enzymes and oxygen radical scavenging agents on oxygen metabolite-induced injury to cultured gastric mucosal cells. Oxygen-reactive metabolites were generated by 1 mM xanthine and 10-100 mU/ml xanthine oxidase. Cytotoxicity was quantified by measuring 51Cr release from prelabeled cells. Xanthine oxidase caused a dose-dependent increase of 51Cr release in the presence of 1 mM xanthine. Catalase (an enzyme that reduces hydrogen peroxide) diminished xanthine-xanthine oxidase-induced 51Cr release in a dose-dependent manner. Superoxide dismutase (a scavenger of superoxide radical) failed to affect the amounts of 51Cr release induced by xanthine plus xanthine oxidase. Pretreatment with diethyl maleate, which depletes intracellular glutathione, potentiated oxygen radical-mediated 51Cr release dose dependently. The presence of ferrous ion or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-chelated iron, which promote the formation of hydroxyl radical, did not alter xanthine-xanthine oxidase-induced cellular injury. Furthermore, agents that inactivate hydroxyl radical also failed to protect the cells from oxygen metabolite-induced injury. We conclude that in vitro oxygen metabolites, extracellularly generated, have a direct toxic effect on gastric mucosal cells; hydrogen peroxide is a major mediator of oxygen metabolite-induced gastric cell injury; the oxygen-derived superoxide and hydroxyl radicals are less toxic to gastric mucosal cells than hydrogen peroxide; and intracellular glutathione, which detoxifies hydrogen peroxide, may be involved in antioxidant defense mechanisms.