Determination of volatile biomarkers for apoptosis and necrosis by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: A pharmacometabolomic approach to cisplatin's cytotoxicity to human lung cancer cell lines

In order to find potential new biomarkers of cisplatin-induced apoptosis and necrosis, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cisplatin-treated human lung cancer cell lines were investigated. The biological system employed was human non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cell lines. The cell lines were treated with two different concentrations of cisplatin, 100 mu M and 400 mu M, and apoptosis and necrosis were determined by flow cytometric analysis. For each drug concentration, the VOCs from the treated cell lines were extracted by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The compounds that change during cisplatin-induced apoptosis and necrosis of lung cancer cell lines can serve as new biomarkers. The pharmacometabolomic approach presented in this study, significantly, implicates a non-destructive, sample-thrifty and time-saving tool for finding new biomarkers for the assessment of drug-induced cell death pathways. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.