Effect of bromodeoxyuridine and interferon on cellular and viral functions in human prostatic cells.

Some of the human prostatic cells in culture apparently produce oncornavirus-like particles. Bromodeoxyuridine does not enhance the production of these particles. On the contrary, this drug depresses such production. This depression is likely to be due to the cytotoxic effects of bromodeoxyuridine for these cells. These results can be interpreted to suggest that the human prostatic cells used in this study do not contain endogenous oncornavirus genetic information that is inducible. Purified human interferon inhibits the production of oncornavirus-like particles by these prostatic cells. It is also inhibits the rate of cellular DNA synthesis in these cells. These results are consistent with the notion that the inhibitory effects of interferon are mediated through its effect on cellular biosynthetic machinery.