Abstract
The direct action of bisulfite on cultured mammalian cells was studied. Chinese hamster cells precultured in plastic dishes for 2 hr were treated for 1 hr with balanced salt solutions containing bisulfite. Then they were washed, and their colony-forming ability in normal medium was determined. Significant decrease in the colony formation was observed upon treatment with bisulfite solutions over 30 mM concentration. The decrease in the colony number was found to be due to detachment of the cells from the dishes during treatment with bisulfite and subsequent washing. When the preculture time was prolonged to allow the cells to adhere to the dish more firmly, the effect of bisulfite was no longer observable. These results indicate that factors required for cell-substratum adhesion are susceptible to bisulfite.
