Apoptosis as the mechanism of cell death induced by a new cytotoxic and anticancer agent (N.C.1213) was investigated by morphological and biochemical criteria in human Jurkat T leukemia cells. 2. The effect of N.C.1213 on the survival of Jurkat T, LV-50, H-9, and Molt-3 cells was measured. Jurkat T cells exhibited the highest response, with less than 10% of the cells remaining viable after exposure to 10 microM N.C.1213 for a 24 hr period. All other cell cultures were also affected but to a lesser extent. 3. With the use of a fluorescence microscope, several morphological features characteristic of apoptosis such as condensed chromatin and apoptotic bodies were identified in Jurkat T cells after exposure to N.C.1213 and melphalan. The results indicated that melphalan was more cytotoxic than N.C.1213 as shown by the dye exclusion test. However, N.C.1213 showed a greater apoptotic index than melphalan. The IC50 of N.C.1213 in Jurkat T cells was determined to be 3.5 microM. 4. A DNA ladder (fragmentation of DNA into multimers of approximately 200 base pairs), which is one characteristic feature of apoptosis, was not detected when Jurkat T cells were exposed to N.C.1213. Hence it is probable that the key morphological events in apoptosis observed in the present experimental conditions precede the internucleosomal cleavage of DNA.
