Studies on antitumor effects and mechanism of action of l-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil by DNA/BrdU double staining using flow cytometry.
An investigation was carried out to elucidate the mechanism of action of the oral antitumor agent 1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil (HCFU) by determining its effects on the growth and cell cycle of epipharyngeal carcinoma cells (KB cell) by DNA/BrdU double staining using flow cytometry (FCM). As a result, it was found that HCFU stimulates KB cells in the S phase to proliferate for the first 3 days of treatment in a low concentration (8 micrograms/ml) and caused cell accumulation in the later G2M phase. On the other hand, when administered in the concentration (20 micrograms/ml) that produces a 50 per cent cell kill, as determined from the cell growth curve, HCFU appeared to exhibit a cytocidal effect by blocking cells in S and G2M for the first 3 days after exposure. It was revealed by FCM for the first time that HCFU operates by a similar mechanism to that of 5-FU. This method seems to be of significance to therapeutic schemes that take into consideration the mechanism of action of antitumor drugs.
Hasegawa
N
N
Department of Agriculture, Osaka Prefectural University.
Kawamoto
K
K
Uemura
T
T
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D004247:DNA; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007624:KB Cells; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004247:DNA; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; C017367:carmofur; D005472:Fluorouracil