A stable O2-resistant cell line: role of lipid peroxidation byproducts in O2-mediated injury.

HA-1 hamster fibroblasts receiving fresh media every 24 h were continuously passaged in progressively increasing O2 concentrations for 18 mo (designated O2R95). These cells were significantly more resistant than parental HA-1 to clonogenic inactivation mediated by 95% O2 without media replacement. The O2R95 cell line exhibited increases in the activities of catalase (CAT), Mn superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). O2R95 cells demonstrated uniformly distributed increased staining for CAT, MnSOD, Cu,Zn SOD, and GPx proteins, as determined by immunohistochemistry. Cellular resistance to and metabolism of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4HNE), a toxic byproduct of lipid peroxidation implicated in mechanisms of O2 toxicity, was examined in HA-1 and O2R95 cell lines. O2R95 cells were significantly more resistant to 4HNE cytotoxicity, which was accompanied by a significant increase in 4HNE metabolism. O2R95 cells also demonstrated an increase in total glutathione (GSH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, an enzymatic system believed to be involved with 4HNE metabolism. Furthermore, homogenates from O2R95 cells consumed greater quantities of 4HNE in the presence of NADPH (but not NADH, NAD+, or NADP+), suggesting that an enzyme(s) utilizing NADPH contributes to 4HNE metabolism, resistance to 95% O2 and 4HNE as well as increased total GSH, antioxidant enzyme activities, and NADPH-dependent metabolism of 4HNE, persisted in O2R95 cells for 75 days of growth in 21% O2. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that aldehydic byproducts of lipid peroxidation contribute to mechanisms of O2 toxicity and the selective pressure exerted by exposure of cells to hyperoxia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)