γ-tocopherol is less effective than α-tocopherol in preventing oxidant-induced sister chromatid exchanges in Chinese hamster V79 cells

Although α-tocopherol (α-TOC) is the most biologically active form of vitamin E and is found at high levels in plasma, γ-tocopherol (γ-TOC) has also been found to be a powerful antioxidant in vitro and constitutes up to 70% of the dietary intake of TOC. Low plasma levels of γ-TOC and a high α-TOC:γ-TOC ratio may be associated with coronary heart disease, suggesting that there may be a positive protective role for the γ-form of TOC. In this study the ability of different forms of vitamin E to protect against sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) induced by either hydrogen peroxide or menadione was investigated. Chinese hamster V79 cells were pre-treated with 10 μM TOC for 24 h, and then challenged with a genotoxin. After a 24 h pre-treatment, there was a greater incorporation of γ-TOC (319.8 ± 66.2 ng/106 cells) into V79 cells compared to α-TOC (66.9 ± 6.4 ng/106 cells). γ-TOC did not protect the cells against SCE induced by either hydrogen peroxide or menadione, α-TOC acetate was partially protective against both genotoxins, whereas α-TOC completely abolished the oxidant induced SCE. These results demonstrate that, despite a greater incorporation of γ-TOC into V79 cells, α-TOC but not γ-TOC was more effective at inhibiting oxidatively-induced SCE in V79 cells.