The selective toxicity of medications used in the treatment of AIDS on the CEM human leukemic CD4+ T-cell line.

Eleven medications used in the treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus or subsequent opportunistic infections were tested to determine their toxicity to the growth of the CEM line of transformed CD4+ T-cells. A selectivity ratio (IC50/EC50) for each agent against its target pathogen was calculated as an in vitro indication of the therapeutic value of that agent. Among the anti-HIV agents tested in this study, 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI) had the highest in vitro selectivity ratio, 2.5 times higher than that of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT). Dapsone had the highest selectivity ratio of the four agents used in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia that were tested. Ketoconazole had a very low selectivity ratio for Candida spp. due to its very high toxicity to CD4+T-cells.