Rapid changes in deoxynucleoside triphosphate pools in mammalian cells treated with mutagens.

In this communication we describe the rapid increase in cellular deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) concentrations in Chinese Hamster cell line V79 after exposure to known mutagens. With this cell line an expansion of dATP and dTTP pools was detected; changes in dCTP were not large; changes in dGTP were either not significant or too low to quantitate. This situation may reflect the existence of imbalances in dNTP pools at the DNA replication fork. The expansion of dATP and dTTP pools occurred within 2 to 4 hours after exposure of cultured cells to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Ultraviolet light (UV), mitomycin C, and cytosine arabinoside also caused similar dNTP pool changes.