title: Cellular pharmacology of phosphorothioate homooligodeoxynucleotides in human cells.
abstract: The uptake and distribution of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides by human cells were studied using 35S-labeled 28-mer phosphorothioate oligodeoxycytidine [S-(dC)28]. Accumulation of intracellular S-(dC)28 was found to be higher in the carcinoma cells (grown in monolayers) than in the leukemia cells (grown in suspension culture). A hepatoma cell line transfected with hepatitis B virus, 2215, was chosen for further studies. The uptake of S-(dC)28 was partially dependent on temperature and energy. The intracellular concentration was significantly higher than that in the medium and the amount accumulated was dependent on the extracellular concentration. It appears that the uptake of S-(dC)28 involves mechanisms of both fluid-phase pinocytosis and adsorptive endocytosis. Neither oligonucleotides nor 5'-phosphorylated nucleotides inhibited S-(dC)28 uptake. Unlike horseradish peroxidase, which was primarily associated with endosomes once it was taken into the cell, S-(dC)28 was found to be present in both nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. Efflux of S-(dC)28 from the cell was multiphasic; a trapping mechanism that could be due to a potent interaction of S-(dC)28 with cellular proteins was implicated. This trapping mechanism could be responsible for the lack of biological activity such as cytotoxicity and antisense activity of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides in some human cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism; D003845:Deoxycytosine Nucleotides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000378:metabolism; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011485:Protein Binding; D013696:Temperature; D013873:Thionucleotides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D003845:Deoxycytosine Nucleotides; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D013873:Thionucleotides