Reversible G1 arrest induced by dimethyl sulfoxide in human lymphoid cell lines: kinetics of the arrest and expression of the cell cycle marker proliferating cell nuclear antigen in Raji cells.

In order to elucidate further the mechanism of reversible cell cycle arrest induced by treatment of Raji cells with 1.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), we have performed a detailed analysis of the kinetics of arrest and of reentry into the cell cycle after removal of DMSO and have correlated cell cycle progression with expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). No significant effect of DMSO on cell cycle patterns, assessed by flow cytometric analysis of bromodeoxyuridine-prelabeled cells, was seen for the first 19 h of treatment. A clear reduction of entry into S phase was detected by about 25 h of treatment; essentially all cells were arrested with a G1 content of DNA after 96 h of treatment. When DMSO-arrested cells were released from the block, entry into S phase began at 12 h after release and continued in a fairly asynchronous manner for a further 12-14 h. In arrested cells, the content of PCNA was reduced to about 25% of the amount present in logarithmically growing G1 phase cells. Six h after release from DMSO, PCNA RNA transcripts were first detected by Northern blotting. The increase of PCNA protein, detected by Western blotting, was seen by 9 h after release. The kinetics of entry into the cell cycle and restoration of PCNA protein are similar to that seen in serum stimulation of quiescent cells. These results suggest that DMSO reversibly arrests proliferation of Raji cells at G0 or at an early point in G1 phase and that progression through late G1 phase and entry into S phase are correlated with synthesis of the PCNA gene product.