Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: a strange case of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxycytidine.

ABSTRACT: 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxycytidine (EdC) are mainly used as markers of cellular replicational activity. Although EdU is employed as a replicational marker more frequently than EdC, its cytotoxicity is commonly much higher than the toxicity of EdC. To reveal the reason of the lower cytotoxicity of EdC, we performed a DNA analysis of five EdC-treated human cell lines. Surprisingly, not a single one of the tested cell lines contained a detectable amount of EdC in their DNA. Instead, the DNA of all the cell lines contained EdU. The content of incorporated EdU differed in particular cells and EdC-related cytotoxicity was directly proportional to the content of EdU. The results of experiments with the targeted inhibition of the cytidine deaminase (CDD) and dCMP deamin

SUBMITTER: Ligasova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4736823 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature