Determination of rates of DNA synthesis in cultured mammalian cell populations.

In cultures of a murine mastocytoma, endogenous synthesis of thymidine phosphates, as determined by the incorporation of [(3)H]deoxyuridine into DNA, was reduced within 15 min to less than 3% of control values by the addition of amethopterin (10 microM) in combination with hypoxanthine and glycine. If [(3)H]thymidine and unlabeled thymidine were added simultaneously with amethopterin, the increase with time of radioactivity in cellular DNA was linear at least between 30 and 90 min, while radioactivity in the acid-soluble nucleotide fraction remained constant during this time interval, indicating that intracellular thymidine nucleotides had the same specific activity as exogenously supplied [(3)H]thymidine. This permitted calculation of the amount of thymidine incorporated per hour into DNA of 10(6) cells. In conjunction with the base composition of mouse DNA, these results were used to calculate rates of DNA synthesis. Cell proliferation rate, cell cycle time, and the duration of the S period were not affected to any appreciable extent by the addition of amethopterin and thymidine. Rates of DNA synthesis, as derived from thymidine incorporation rates, were in good agreement with those derived from the measured mean DNA content of exponentially multiplying cells and rates of cell proliferation.