Cystamine augments the stimulation of DNA synthesis by peptide growth factors and microtubule-disrupting agents in cultures of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts.

Cystamine together with colchicine markedly enhanced the uptake of [3H]-thymidine into DNA of quiescent cultures of insulin-stimulated Swiss 3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Flow cytofluorometric analyses showed an increased rate of transition of cells from G0/G1----S + G2 in response to combinations of insulin, colchicine, and cystamine. Cystamine, the most effective of several thiol compounds, gave maximal augmentation at 200 microM and was toxic at 300-500 microM. Amplification of DNA synthesis by cystamine was also obtained with epidermal growth factor, vasopressin, and 0.5% fetal bovine serum. Combinations of cystamine and other microtubule-disrupting agents such as nocodazole, maytansine, and podophyllotoxin enhanced DNA synthesis in insulin-stimulated cells. In experiments involving sequential addition of agents, significant enhancement of DNA synthesis was observed when the addition of colchicine to cystamine-treated cells was delayed or conversely when the addition of cystamine to colchicine-treated cultures was delayed. This reciprocal interaction between cystamine and colchicine suggests that a prereplicative intermediate accumulates in response to the action of these dissimilar compounds. We consider the possibility that cystamine may act by forming mixed disulfides with thiol groups of unknown protein(s) that regulate DNA replication.