toxicolgical role of Zn2+ in cell death induced by chemical stress

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The toxicological role of Zn2+ in cell death induced by chemical compounds was examined in this study. Micromolar concentrations of Zn2+ potentiated the cytotoxicity of hydrogen peroxide while the chelator of intracellular Zn2+ diminished it. This result suggests an involvement of Zn2+ in the cell death induced by hydrogen peroxide. The chemical compounds that induced the increase in intracellular Zn2+ concentration potentiated the cytotoxicity of hydrogen peroxide. However, the increase in intracellular Zn2+ concentration by the chemical compounds elevated the cellular content of nonprotein thiols, cytoprotective substances. It is suggested that Zn2+ exerts reciprocal actions, cytoprotective and cytotoxic, on the cell death under certain conditions.