G2+M arrest of cultured mammalian cells after incorporation of tritium-labeled nucleosides.

Novikoff rat hepatoma cells were propagated in suspension cultures containing 0.5 to 10 muC of 3H-methyl-thymidine, 3H-5-uridine, 3H-G-adenosine or 3H-8-adenine. The presence of the 3H-labeled precursors caused an inhibition of cell replication which was due to a delay or arrest of the cells in G2 and M. The degree of inhibition was proportional to the amount of radioactivity incorporated into nucleic acids. Almost immediate and complete inhibition resulted from incubation with 10 muC 3H-thymidine/ml. The presence of 0.5 muC 3H-thmidine/ml caused a significant increase in the relative proportion of cells in G2+M, even though the population doubling time of the culture appeared to be unaltered.