Relative cytotoxicity of 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine and 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine 5'-monophosphate.

The relative cytotoxicity of 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine and 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine 5'-monophosphate (ara-AMP) were compared using wild-type and adenosine kinase (AK)-deficient baby hamster kidney somatic cell mutants. The cytotoxicity of ara-AMP to baby hamster kidney cells was dependent on the presence of AK activity since AK-deficient mutants were resistant to ara-AMP. On an equimolar basis, ara-AMP was consistently less cytotoxic than was 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine to wild-type and AK-deficient baby hamster kidney mutant cells. These findings are consistent with the common view that ara-AMP molecules do not enter mammalian cells as an intact nucleotide. Presumably, ara-AMP molecules were hydrolyzed by the nonspecific phosphatases and 5'-nucleotidase found in the serum or by the ecto-5'-nucleotidase on the outer surface of the membrane and only enter the mammalian cells as 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine.