title: Base specificity in the inhibition of oncornavirus reverse transcriptase and cellular nucleic acid polymerases by antitumor drugs.
abstract: Adriamycin, daunomycin, acridylmethanesulfonanilide, and alkoxybenzophenanthridine alkaloids (coralyne acetosulfate, fagaronine chloride, and nitidine chloride) inhibit template-directed nucleic acid polymerizing enzyme activities like reverse transcriptase, DNA polymerase, and RNA polymerase. Enzyme reactions with poly(dA-dT), poly(rA)-oligo(dT) and poly(dA)-oligo(dT) are more strongly inhibited by the drugs than those with poly(dC)-poly(dG) and poly(rC)-oligo(dG). These results suggest that the antitumor drugs inhibit nucleic acid polymerases by a specific interaction with A:T base pairs of the templates.
mesh_terms: D000166:Acridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D003630:Daunorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; D010655:Phenylenediamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011062:Polynucleotide Adenylyltransferase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
chemical_list: D000166:Acridines; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; D010655:Phenylenediamines; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D004317:Doxorubicin; D011062:Polynucleotide Adenylyltransferase; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D003630:Daunorubicin