Thiol antioxidants increase the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species and prolifetaion of SP2/0 mouse myeloma cells in serum-free medium

The connections between the presence of low molecular weight RSH-antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine, glutathione) in serum-free medium, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and proliferation of SP2/0-SF mouse myeloma cells have been demonstrated. It is shown that the presence of RSH compounds in the medium within the studied range of concentrations changed the contents of ROS in cells and had a dose-dependent effect on cell proliferation. Stimulation of the proliferative activity did not depend on the nature of an RSH compound. The optimal concentration for the both antioxidants was 0.2 mM. A further increase of the concentration led to inhibition of cell proliferation to different degrees for N-acetylcysteine and glutathione.