Phosphate compounds as iron chelators in animal cell cultures

We have studied the capacity of a number of phosphate compounds to act in the double role as a phosphate source and a detoxifier of ferric chloride hydroxo compounds, i.e. as Fe(III) chelators. The tested compounds were: orthophosphate, trimetaphosphate, alpha-glycerophosphate, beta-glycerophosphate, phytic acid, and phosphorylcholine; the test organism the ciliate protozoon Tetrahymena thermophila, an animal cell; and the nutrient medium was synthetic, consisting solely of low-molecular-weight compounds. We assessed growth rates of cells in two experimental series. First, phosphate-starved cells were exposed to the tested phosphate compound as the only phosphate source and the ferric chloride concentrations were varied stepwise from 0 to 1000 microM. Second, we offered the cells orthophosphate as a phosphate source and selected phosphate compounds as chelators. The cell growth results allow the following conclusions: orthophosphate, trimetaphosphate, alpha-glycerophosphate, and beta-glycerophosphate are excellent phosphate sources; trimetaphosphate, alpha-glycerophosphate, beta-glycerophosphate, and phytic acid are excellent Fe(III) chelators; of the tested compounds trimetaphosphate, alpha-glycerophosphate, and beta-glycerophosphate are excellent in the double role as a phosphate source and a ferric chloride hydroxo detoxifier, i.e. as a Fe(III) chelator.