Effect of adriamycin on the cell cycle traverse and kinetics of cultured human lymphoblasts.

Exposure of cultured human lymphoblasts to adriamycin (ADM) (0.1 mug/ml for 24 hr or 0.5 mug/ml for 1 hr) leads to an accumulation of cells with the DNA content of late S and G2. Higher concentrations of ADM (0.5 to 10 mug/ml) inhibit cell cycle traverse. Effect of ADM on cell cycle traverse, cell growth, and incorporation of labeled precursors into DNA is dependent on drug concentration and length of exposure to ADM. Synchronized cells in G1 or G2 part of the cell cycle are less sensitive to ADM than cells in S phase. Similarly, plateau-phase cells are less sensitive to ADM than cells from log-phase cultures.