Effect of hydroxyurea treatment on lysosomal membrane stability and enzyme latency in L5178Y cells in culture.

The stability of lysosomes prepared from hydroxyurea (HU) treated or untreated L5178Y cells and exposed to an HU-free iso- or hypoosmotic solution was compared. The data revealed that exposure of the cells to 1-10 mM HU for few hours tends to stabilize lysosomes. Partial protection against this effect could be afforded by catalase and superoxide dismutase. Under the same conditions of HU treatment lysosomal enzyme latency remained similar in HU treated and untreated cells.