This study was designed to examine how glutathione, one of the nucleophilic sulfur compounds, effects the cisplatin cellular toxicity in the non-small cell lung cancer cell lines and normal lung epithel ial cell line.

Three cultured cell lines, the lung adenocarcinoma cell(NCL-H23), the lung squamous carcinoma cell (SK-MES-1) and the normal lung epithelial cell(L-132) line were exposed to various concentrations of cisplation with or without glutathione. The relative viability was estimated as a means of measuring the cisplatin cellular toxicity using the MTT method.

In NCL-23, the response to cisplatin was sensitive but glutathione markedly increased the relative survival of the tumor cells by removing the antitumor effect of cisplatin. In both SK-MES-1 and L-132, the responses to cisplatin were less sensitive, and the chemoprotective effect of glutathione compared to an equal cisplatin dose was signigicantly higher in L-132 than in SK-MES-1(p<0.05).

The protective effects of glutathione on cisplatin-induced cellular toxicity is more signigicant in normal lung epithelial cells than in squamous carcinoma cells.