Differential potentiation of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea by alpha-difluoromethylornithine in chloroethylnitrosourea-sensitive and -resistant 9L rat brain tumor cells in vitro.

alpha-Difluoromethylornithine, an enzyme-activated, irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, inhibited the growth of both chloroethylnitrosourea-sensitive and -resistant 9L rat brain tumor cells in vitro. After 48 hr of treatment with 10 mM alpha-difluoromethylornithine, the putrescine and spermidine contents of both resistant and sensitive cells were less than 5% of control levels, but the spermine level was slightly elevated. The cytotoxicity of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, as measured by a colony-forming efficiency assay, was significantly increased in alpha-difluoromethylornithine-pretreated sensitive cells but not in resistant cells treated with this polyamine inhibitor. With the sister chromatid exchange assay, we found that alpha-difluoromethylornithine pretreatment increased 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea-induced damage to chromosomes in sensitive but not in resistant cells.