To investigate the role of GSH in TCE-induced DNA damage, two
approaches were carried out for different treatment scheme. In one experiment,
HepG2 cells were pre-cultured with BSO (150M) in MEM for 20 h to deplete
the intracellular content of GSH by inhibiting its synthesis, and then exposed to
TCE for another 1 h; In the other experiment, NAC (5 mM), a GSH precursor,
was used to elevate the intracellular GSH level in HepG2 cells by co-treatment
with TCE over an 1 h incubation period. Subsequently, the comet assay was
performed as described above.