Introduction of a fluorine atom at C3 of 3-deazauridine shifts its antimetabolic activity from inhibition of CTP synthetase to inhibition of orotidylate decarboxylase, an early event in the de novo pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis pathway. (1/16)

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Dual effects of pyrazofurin and 3-deazauridine upon pyrimidine and purine biosynthesis in mouse L1210 leukemia. (2/16)

Pyrazofurin (NSC 143095) as the monophosphate derivative is a potent inhibitor of orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP) decarboxylase of the pyrimidine pathway and has been proposed to inhibit 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) transformylase (EC 2.1.2.3) of the purine pathway (J. F. Worzalla, and M. J. Sweeney, Pyrazofurin inhibition of purine biosynthesis via 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl 5'-monophosphate formyltransferase. Cancer Res., 40: 1482-1485, 1980). Measurement of levels of pyrimidine and purine intermediates in cultured mouse L1210 leukemia cells has shown that 25 microM pyrazofurin induces an 8-fold accumulation of OMP and large accumulations of intermediates proximal to the blockade with abrupt decreases in uridine and cytidine nucleotides. Considerable increases in the cellular concentrations of N-succino-AICAR (SAICAR), AICAR, 5-formamidoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide (FAICAR), IMP, XMP, and GMP at later times indicate that AICAR transformylase is not significantly inhibited in cultured cells; rather the purine pathway and the GMP branch are stimulated. However, addition of 25 microM 3-deazauridine (NSC 126849) to leukemia cells did result in inhibition of AICAR transformylase: AICAR and SAICAR accumulated, IMP disappeared and there was a large accumulation of guanosine nucleotides. Blockade of pyrimidine biosynthesis by derivatives of pyrazofurin or 3-deazauridine spares 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate and L-glutamine, elevated concentrations of which may stimulate initial reactions of purine biosynthesis and the reaction XMP----GMP.  (+info)

Formation of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline in cultured human leukemic RPMI 6410 cells. (3/16)

When incubated with 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C), RPMI 6410 cells formed a hitherto unrecognized ara-C metabolite, 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline. This compound was characterized by (a) chromatographic behavior, (b) chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis, (c) phosphorus content, and (d) incorporation of [5-3H]ara-C and [methyl-14C]choline. Formation of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline by RPMI 6410 cells was enhanced in the presence of 3-deazauridine (DU) and was preceded by that of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine triphosphate. The antiproliferative effects of ara-C and DU toward RPMI 6410 cells were potentiated when the agents were present together. The anabolism of ara-C during a 24-hr interval of culture was markedly enhanced by the presence of DU; cellular concentrations of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine triphosphate and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline were 5- and 15-fold higher than those in the absence of DU. This enhancement appears to be the basis of the potentiation of cytotoxicity resulting from combination of the agents. Pretreatment of RPMI 6410 cells with DU resulted in enhanced rates of cellular uptake of ara-C. ara-C uptake under these circumstances was blocked by the inhibitor of nucleoside transport, nitrobenzylthioinosine.  (+info)

Formation of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline in neoplastic and normal cells. (4/16)

1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline was formed from 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) during incubation in vitro of peripheral myeloblasts from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia and cultured cells (nonleukemic human lymphocytes, mouse lymphoma L5178Y, and HeLa); as well, 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline was formed in vivo in mouse leukemia L1210 cells and mouse liver. 3-Deazauridine enhanced the anabolism of ara-C in nonleukemic lymphocytes in vitro and leukemia L1210 cells in vivo but did not influence ara-C anabolism in the other cell types. In acute myelogenous leukemia myeloblasts incubated in vitro with ara-C, concentrations of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate were maximal after 8 hr of incubation and formation of the latter preceded that of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine diphosphate choline.  (+info)

Effects of pyrimidine antagonists on sialic acid regeneration in HL-60 cells. (5/16)

Because alterations in cell membrane sialoglycoconjugates can affect the behavior of neoplastic cells, we investigated the effects of in vitro treatment with antimetabolites used in cancer therapy on the expression of membrane sialic acid in cultured HL-60 leukemic cells. In these studies, cells were incubated with Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase to remove surface sialic acid. Reappearance of membrane sialic acid during drug treatment was followed (a) by measuring changes in radioactive surface labeling of viable cells with sodium metaperiodate-sodium[3H]-borohydride, (b) by measuring the decline in accessible surface galactosyl receptor sites which occurred coincident with membrane sialic acid replacement, and (c) by measuring the incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into membrane-associated neuraminidase-labile sialic acid. We were especially interested in learning whether drugs that affect intracellular pools of cytidine triphosphate (CTP), an important nucleotide intermediate in sialylation reactions, could inhibit regeneration of membrane sialic acid. 3-Deazauridine, a competitive inhibitor of CTP synthetase, depleted CTP pools and curtailed surface membrane resialylation with little or no effect on synthesis of de novo sialic acid from precursor sugars. The addition of cytidine restored CTP pools and sialic acid regeneration. Acivicin, a glutamine antagonist, also depleted CTP pools and curtailed surface membrane resialylation. In addition, it retarded de novo synthesis of sialic acid. The addition of cytidine restored intracellular CTP pools and sialic acid regeneration. However, both cytidine and guanosine were required to restore sialic acid synthesis from precursor sugars. 1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine, a competitive inhibitor of sialic acid synthetase and of sialyltransferase, inhibited both de novo sialic acid synthesis and membrane resialylation. Only the latter effect was reversed by the addition of exogenous cytidine. Hydroxyurea, an agent shown previously to inhibit glycoconjugate production in hamster fibroblasts, curtailed membrane resialylation and de novo synthesis of sialic acid without depleting CTP pools. Doxorubicin, at levels that caused marked arrest of cell proliferation, had no effect on sialic acid synthesis or expression on the membrane surface. These data suggest that antimetabolites, apart from their cytotoxic effects or effects on cellular growth, may directly inhibit the expression of membrane sialic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)  (+info)

Drug sequence-dependent toxicity and small bowel mucosal injury in mice treated with low doses of 3-deazauridine and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine. (6/16)

The toxicity to mice of combinations of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and 3-deazauridine was investigated. The drugs were administered daily i.p. on Days 1 to 5, each drug at 10 mg/kg body weight; these dosages are small fractions of the dosages at which 10% of the treated animals died when either drug was administered alone on the foregoing schedule. This drug combination was severely toxic when 3-deazauridine was administered 2 to 8 hr prior to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine; most mice treated in this way died within 3 days of the last treatment. Histological examination showed that severe damage to the small bowel mucosa resulted from treatment with the drugs in the above, lethal sequence. In contrast, treatments with this drug combination at the same dosages were tolerated when the two agents were administered simultaneously or when 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine preceded 3-deazauridine. Under the latter conditions, small bowel mucosal injury was much less severe. Female mice were more sensitive to the toxic treatment regimen than were male mice and were protected against the latter when either the 3-deazauridine or the 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine component was preceded by treatment with nitrobenzylthioinosine (100 mg/kg), a potent inhibitor of nucleoside transport.  (+info)

Synergistic action of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and 3-deazauridine on L1210 leukemic cells and EMT6 tumor cells. (7/16)

The biochemical and biological effects of the combination of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dCyd) and 3-deazauridine (3-DU) on L1210 leukemic cells and EMT6 tumor cells were investigated. The cytotoxic action of 5-aza-dCyd and 3-DU on both L1210 and EMT6 cells in vitro was synergistic when these agents were used in combination. The combination of 5-aza-dCyd and 3-DU produced a greater inhibition of in vitro growth of L1210 and EMT6 cells than did either agent alone. The in vivo antineoplastic activity of this combination was synergistic with respect to the increased survival time of BALB/c x DBA/2 F1 mice with L1210 leukemia. 3-DU, an agent that reduces the intracellular pool size of cytosine nucleotides, stimulated the incorporation of [3H]-5-aza-dCyd into DNA of both L1210 and EMT6 cells, suggesting that the synergistic action of this combination is related to the increased incorporation of 5-aza-dCyd in the presence of 3-DU.  (+info)

Penetration of 3-deazauridine into human brain, intracerebral tumor, and cerebrospinal fluid. (8/16)

The antitumor agent 3-deazauridine (DAU) was administered rapidly to four patients before surgical removal of intracerebral tumor. Tumor, adjacent brain tissue, and temporalis muscle were assayed for DAU by high-pressure liquid chromatography. DAU penetrated comparably into tumor, brain, and muscle; in one patient, tissue concentrations were higher than concurrent plasma concentrations. The active metabolite 3-deazauridine 5'-triphosphate was quantitated in one tumor sample and greatly exceeded its Ki for cytidine 5'-triphosphate synthetase. DAU was also present in autopsy brain specimens from two patients treated shortly antemortem. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations were 22.1 and 59.0%, respectively, of concurrent plasma concentrations during continuous infusion of DAU in two patients. Cerebrospinal fluid concentration was 3.1 microgram/ml 2 hr after a 30-min infusion of 1.5 g of drug per sq m and fell to 1.9 microgram/ml at 16 hr. Thus, DAU is capable of penetrating into intracerebral tumor, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid and is worthy of investigation in the treatment of intracerebral and meningeal neoplasms.  (+info)