Effects of High Pressure and Metal Salts on Cell Growth

The effects of chromate, vanadate, nickel, manganese, copper and barium, both separately and in combination with high pressure helium gas, have been studied in an epithelial-like cell line — Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, using inhibition of cell growth as the cytotoxic endpoint.

High pressure (175 bar) by itself reduced the net growth of CHO cells to 71.7 ± 5.5% (mean ± SD) of normobaric control growth. The combined effects of high pressure and metal salts were additive for the lowest concentrations of chromate, copper, manganese and barium, more than additive for the lowest concentration of nickel, and less than additive for vanadate and the highest concentrations of chromate, copper, manganese and barium.

A ranking of the normobaric growth inhibition of the metal salts, estimated as the concentration giving 50% inhibition, was Cr>V>Mn>Ni>Cu>Ba. The growth inhibition of barium was less than 50% at a concentration of ImM BaCl₂. The combined exposure to high pressure and the metal salt did not change the toxicity ranking.