The influence of metronidazole, a sensitizer of hypoxic cells, on radiation response of solid tumor clonogenic cells

The clonogenic capacity of cells from peripheral and central zones of solid NKLy tumors of mice treated with metranidazole, a sensityzer of hypoxic cells, and with a mixture of metranidazole, and radiation was studied by cloning in diffusion chambers. The cytoxic effect of metranidazole was only noted during the prolonged interaction with cells under acute hypoxia that was observed in central tumor zones. Metronidazole increased by more than two times the radisensitivity of cells from the central zones of the tumor and didnot influence the radiation reponse of cells from the peripheral zones. Metronidazole was shown to inhibit the repair of potentially lethal radiation damages