Inhibition of purine nucleoside phosphorylase by 8-aminoguanosine: selective toxicity for T lymphoblasts.

The guanosine analog 8-aminoguanosine is an effective inhibitor of the purine degradative enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase, both in vitro and in intact lymphoid cells. In a human lymphoblast tissue culture system, 8-aminoguanosine, in combination with low concentrations of 2'-deoxyguanosine, causes toxicity toward T cells but not B cells. The selective T cell toxicity correlates with increased accumulation of deoxyguanosine triphosphate in the treated T lymphoblasts.