Buthionine sulfoximine inhibition of cystine uptake and glutathione biosynthesis in human lung carcinoma cells.

Intracellular glutathione (GSH) content of human lung carcinoma cells, A549, in log phase was 25 +/- 5 nmol/10(6) cells, which is considerably higher than that reported in other tumor cells. After partial depletion of GSH with diethyl maleate (DEM), addition of cystine to the medium allowed full resynthesis of GSH in 4 hr, cysteine in the same time period led to less resynthesis, and methionine provided minimal resynthesis. Using cystine as the sole sulfur source and with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, 5 mM) included in the medium after cells were depleted with DEM, inhibition of both cystine uptake and resynthesis of GSH occurred. BSO inhibited [35S]cystine uptake (as early as 10 min) in a concentration-dependent process, ranging from a 28% decrease for 1 microM BSO to an 85% decrease for 100 microM BSO compared to the control cells after 240 min of incubation. In addition, GSH resynthesis from [35S]cystine for 240 min was inhibited in a parallel dose-dependent manner, in that 1 microM BSO caused a 27% decrease and 100 microM BSO provided a 75% decrease from control values. BSO did not inhibit the uptake of [35S]methionine, but inhibited the low amount of resynthesis of GSH when methionine was the sole sulfur source. BSO did not inhibit the uptake of arginine, phenylalanine, and leucine. DL-, L-, and methyl ester-BSO each inhibited [35S]cystine uptake and incorporation into GSH to a similar extent. The half-life of GSH was 3.5 +/- 0.4 hr in A549 cells that were grown in complete medium with GSH synthesis occurring.