Bacterial cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis in promyelocytic (line HL-60) cells by novel organotellurium compounds

The increasing importance of tellurium in organic synthesis, in industrial applications, and as a possible component in pesticides means that its introduction into the environment will probably increase in the future. A knowledge of the relative toxicity and the mode of toxic action of tellurium-containing chemicals is therefore important. The work presented here, using growth-rate inhibition effects on Pseudomonas fluorescens of two model compounds, telluranthrene and tetrachlorodiphenyl ditelluride, suggests that these compounds are at least as toxic as the relatively well-known selenium oxyanions, selenate andselenite. Experiments with human promyelocytic (line HL-60) cells indicate that both the above organotellurium compounds induce a form ofcell death called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The inductionof apoptosis occurred in both a time- and dose-dependent manner, as assayed by three different analytical methods: fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and gel electrophoresis. The results indicate thatorganotellurium compounds may find applicability in the fields of chemoprevention and cancer therapy, similar to organoselenium compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]