PMID: 6163527Apr 1, 1981Paper

Methotrexate cytotoxicity in cultured human leukemic cells studied by flow cytometry

Cancer Research
I W Taylor, M H Tattersall

Abstract

Methotrexate (MTX)(2 x 10(-8) M) inhibited DNA synthesis in CCRF-CEM cells, causing cells to accumulate in early S phase while cellular RNA content and cell size continued to increase. Two-parameter flow cytometric analysis of DNA and RNA showed these cells to be unbalanced with excessive RNA relative to DNA content. Fifty % of cells remained viable after a 96-hr exposure to 2 x 10(-8) M MTX. In contrast, 10(-4) M MTX inhibited cell cycle progression of cells in both G1 and S phases and also prevented the development of unbalanced growth. In this instance, cell viability was reduced to 10% after 96 hr of drug exposure. The relative contribution of inhibition of thymidylate and purine biosynthesis to MTX cytotoxicity was investigated by addition of exogenous thymidine (10(-5) M) or hypoxanthine (10(-4) M). Thymidine reduced the cytotoxicity and inhibition of DNA synthesis caused by both doses of MTX and prevented classical unbalanced growth with 2 x 10(-8) m MTX; treatment with 10(-4) M MTX resulted in a form of unbalanced growth where cells had a relative excess of DNA compared with RNA content. The addition of hypoxanthine enhanced the classical unbalanced growth pattern seen with 2 x 10(-8) M MTX but was accompanied by a part...Continue Reading

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