Effects of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine incorporation on eukaryotic DNA template function.

1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) incorporates into DNA, and the extent of this incorporation correlates significantly with inhibition of DNA synthesis. The incorporated ara-C residue provides a poor primer terminus for further chain elongation. There is a highly significant relationship between formation of (ara-C) DNA and loss of clonogenic survival. The present studies confirm that incorporation of ara-C into DNA, and not the competitive inhibition of DNA polymerase, is responsible for inducing lethal cellular events. The results also demonstrate that the incorporated ara-C residue is not excised from the DNA strand. Furthermore, the presistence of ara-C residues in DNA inhibits recovery of DNA synthesis following exposure to drug. The relative DNA chain-terminating effect of ara-C provides several mechanisms of action that explain internucleotide and chain terminus positioning of ara-C residues, reinitiation of previously replicated DNA segments, and DNA strand or chromosomal breaks. The precise mechanism of action is dependent upon dose scheduling of this drug.