[Damage to and interphase death of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma tumor cells at different growth stages during energy starvation and heat shock].

The reaction of the Ehrlich ascite carcinoma cells, being at different phases of their growth, to the energy deprivation (rotenone in glucose-free medium) and heat shock (HS) was investigated. The criteria of this reaction were interphase death (according to Trypan blue staining) and structural changes (appearance of big blebs). It was found that proliferating cells (from log phase), judging from the two criteria, were more sensitive to a separate action of both energy deprivation and HS, than the resting ones (from stationary phase). Under combined actions (energy deprivation plus HS), when cell damage is much accelerated, the difference in their sensitivity was revealed only in relation to structural damages. Under the action of starvation and HS, changes in ATP content in the cells of both ages were similar; the reaction of cells to both the agents, after removing the calcium from medium (by chelator), was not changed. It means that specificity of the reaction of cells being at different growth phases to the damaging agents is not determined by disturbance in their energetic and calcium homeostases. In the proliferating cells, the cytoskeletal protein aggregation under energetic deprivation proceeded faster than that in the resting ones. It is proposed that the reaction of cells being on different growth phases depends on the stability of cytoskeletal proteins and on the content of stress proteins.