Proficient repair of potentially lethal damage sensitive to hypertonic treatment in osteosarcoma cells.

Fast-repairing potentially lethal damage (PLD) in seven osteosarcoma cell lines was analyzed after treatment with a hypertonic 0.5 M NaCl solution for 20 min and compared to that in seven human fibroblast strains. Fixation of PLD after exposure to ionizing radiation was observed without exception in both the osteosarcoma cells and the fibroblast strains. The percentages by which the D(o)'s of the osteosarcoma cells decreased were significantly higher than the percentage decreases in the C(o)'s of the fibroblast strains (P < 0.01). Hypertonic treatment resulted in radiosensitization due to fixation of PLD in all of the osteosarcoma cell lines, demonstrating that osteosarcoma cells can repair PLD better than normal fibroblast cells. The radiobiological response of the osteosarcoma cells, with enhanced killing after hypertonic treatment, was similar to that of normal untreated fibroblast cells.