CYTOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF TOCOPHEROLS IN HEPATOCYTES CULTURED WITH POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS

When highly unsaturated fatty acids are added to cell cultures, it can become important to include antioxidants in the culture medium to pre vent cytotoxic peroxidation. To find an optimal antioxidant for this p urpose, the effect of 50 mu M alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, alph a-tocopheryl acetate, alpha-tocopheryl acid succinate, or alpha-tocoph eryl phosphate, or of 1 mu M N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine, was i nvestigated with respect to the agent's ability to prevent lactate deh ydrogenase leakage in long-term rat hepatocyte cultures supplemented w ith 0.5 mM highly unsaturated fatty acids. Formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the cultures was also measured. alpha-Toc opheryl acid succinate was found to be the most effective cytoprotecti ve compound, followed by N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine, alpha-toc opherol, gamma-tocopherol and alpha-tocopheryl acetate, and alpha-toco pheryl phosphate was without effect.