Cytotoxic effect of 5-thio-D-glucose on chronically hypoxic cells in multicell spheroids.

The effect of 5-thio-D-glucose on chronically hypoxic cells in the multicell spheroids of Chinese hamster V79 cells was investigated. The radiation survival curves of spheroid cells indicated that most of the chronically hypoxic cells in the spheroids could be eliminated by incubating the spheroids with 5-20 mM of 5-thio-D-glucose or 17 hours. Histological studies also demonstrated that 5-thio-D-glucose preferentially kills the hypoxic cells located in the inner part of the spheroids.