Cytotoxicity as an indicator for transport mechanism: evidence that murine bone marrow progenitor cells lack a high-affinity leucine carrier that transports melphalan in murine L1210 leukemia cells.

Cytotoxicity of melphalan to murine L1210 leukemia cells was reduced to a limiting maximum value of 50% by 2-aminobicyclo[2,2,1]heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH), indicating that cytotoxicity is partially dependent on drug uptake by system L. L-Leucine, but not alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), completely reduced the remaining 50% of drug cytotoxicity. These results contrast with those obtained with a sensitive host tissue, the bone marow progenitor cells of the white cell series (CFU-C), in that a high-affinity leucine transport system corresponding to system L was not identified.