Radiotoxicity of 5-[125I]iodo-2'-deoxyuridine in mammalian cells following treatment with 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine.

We have enhanced the uptake of 5-[125I]iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (125IUdR) in Chinese hamster V79 cells with 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR) and have examined the combined toxicity of these agents. Although the uptake of 125IUdR increases approximately 3.2 +/- 0.5-fold in the presence of 1 microM FUdR, when cell survival fraction is plotted as a function of intranuclear 125IUdR content, the biphasic curve obtained reaches a plateau at a higher survival fraction than with control cells not exposed to FUdR. The results suggest that a greater number of cells were prevented from entering the S phase and consequently from incorporating 125IUdR. An FUdR- 125IUdR combination, therefore, does not seem to enhance the therapeutic potential of 125IUdR. Such observations are also of importance when FUdR and other inhibitors are used to enhance cold IUdR uptake in an effort to obtain an increase in radiosensitization effects.