The effects of environmental deuterium on normal and neoplastic cultured cell development

The powdered culture media (RPMI - 1640) were reconstituted either with normal distilled water (150 ppm deuterium) either with deuterium - depleted water (DDW) in various concentrations (30, 60, 90 ppm) and sterilized by filtration with 0.2 {mu}m filters. The cell lines used were NIH (normal mouse fibroblasts), RAG (mouse renal carcinoma) and TS/A (mouse mammary adenocarcinoma). In auxiliary tests, BAIBC mouse splenocytes in direct culture were used, stimulated for growth with concanavalin A or LPS (bacterial lipopolysaccharide). The estimation of the growth was made using the MTT assay or direct counting with trypan blue exclusion. The following results were obtained: Deuterium - depleted water had a stimulating effect on cell growth, the most important stimulating action being from the 90 ppm deuterium-water. The growth curves show, in a first phase, a stimulation of the rapid -growing neoplastic cells, followed by a slower growth of the normal cells. Amiloride 100 mM blocking of the Na{sup +}/K{sup +} membrane pump did not affect the cell growth curves, while the lansoprazole 100 mM blocking of the K{sup +}/H{sup +} ATP-ase brought the growth curves at the level of those with normal water. This might show an eventual involvement of the K{sup +}/H{sup +} antiport in the stimulating effects of the DDW. (authors)