We have investigated the role of glutathione in determining the macromolecular binding and cytotoxicity of cisplatin (DDP) and melphalan (LPAM) in human ovarian carcinoma cells and DDP-resistant L1210 mouse leukemia cells. Glutathione reacted avidly with DDP in normal saline with a bimolecular rate constant of 16.2 M-1 hr-1. Glutathione had no effect on the rate of hydrolysis of LPAM, consistent with the SN1-like reaction mechanism of LPAM. Glutathione protected calf thymus DNA and bovine serum albumin from DDP platination and LPAM alkylation. Glutathione also protected nuclei isolated from human ovarian carcinoma cells from DDP platination. The importance of intracellular glutathione in determining the cytotoxicity of DDP and LPAM was assessed by depletion of glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine in three cell types. Exposure to 0.5 mM buthionine sulfoximine for 20-28 hr depleted glutathione to levels that were 10-20% of control levels. COLO 316 and 2008 human ovarian carcinoma cells, and ZCR9 mouse leukemia cells were all sensitized to LPAM cytotoxicity by this level of glutathione depletion. The dose modification factors, defined as the IC50 control cells/IC50 depleted cells, were: 2.6 +/- 0.5 for COLO 316 cells, 1.6 +/- 0.1 for 2008 cells, and 2.1 +/- 1.1 for ZCR9 cells. In contrast, glutathione depletion had a minimal effect on DDP cytotoxicity in these cells with dose modification factors of: 1.2 +/- 0.2 for COLO 316 cells, 0.8 +/- 0.3 for 2008 cells, and 1.1 +/- 0.1 for ZCR9 cells. The differential potentiation of DDP and LPAM cytotoxicity by glutathione depletion in these cells, despite the similar protection that glutathione affords macromolecules from drug binding, suggests that there are fundamental differences in the intracellular interaction of these electrophilic drugs with glutathione.