The role of energy in hyperthermia-induced mammalian cell inactivation: a study of the effects of glucose starvation and an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation.

When cultured Chinese hamster cells were exposed to 43 degrees C hyperthermia, effects due to glucose deprivation and to the presence of the uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, carbonylcyanide-3-chlorophenylhydrazone, during the 43 degrees C treatment proved to be strongly accelerated compared to the effects at normal temperature (37 degrees C). This strongly indicates that the availability of energy plays an important role in the response of these cells to hyperthermia. One of the reasons cells die after hyperthermia may be a lethal lack of energy. Cells heated before glucose deprivation were able to maintain viability for a longer period during deprivation than cells without the preheat treatment. As the cells might develop thermotolerance after the heat exposure, this suggests that cells in the thermotolerant state use energy in a more economical way.