We examined the protective effects of cycloheximide against cytotoxicity induced by vincristine, colchicine, delta 12-prostaglandin J2, or other antitumor agents on the human osteosarcoma cell line, KSu. Vincristine at a concentration of 0.5 microgram/ml decreased the initial cell number to 34% during 4 days; however, when cycloheximide (0.5 to 10 micrograms/ml) was coexistent, the decrease of the cell number was suppressed and 68% of the initial cells remained viable at the maximum. Furthermore, 0.1 micrograms/ml of cycloheximide also reduced cytotoxicity of colchicine (0.1 to 5 microM) or delta 12-prostaglandin J2 (1 to 5 micrograms/ml) and reduced the cytotoxicity of 0.1 microgram/ml of doxorubicin or 1 micrograms/ml of mitomycin C, suggesting that protection by cycloheximide is shown against cytotoxicity of various types of antitumor agents even on human malignant cells. Next, protein synthesis was reduced to 52% of a control at 3 h by 0.1 micrograms/ml of cycloheximide, suggesting that protein synthesis inhibition precedes the protection. De novo protein synthesis analysis showed that vincristine (0.5 microgram/ml) does not induce any specific protein, whereas delta 12-prostaglandin J2 (3 or 4 micrograms/ml) induced Mr 70,000 and 90,000 proteins, and these were markedly inhibited by cycloheximide (0.1 microgram/ml). In a cell-cycle study, M-phase arrest by vincristine (0.5 microgram/ml) was inhibited in the presence of 0.1 microgram/ml of cycloheximide, suggesting that cell cycle arrest by cycloheximide may be important for protection. From these data, this protection by cycloheximide seems to be more general than expected before.