Ribonucleotide reductase from regenerating rat liver. II. Substrate phosphorylation level and effect of deoxyadenosine triphosphate

Ribonucleotide reductase from wild type and hydroxyurea-resistant chinese hamster ovary cells

The kinetic properties of partially purified ribonucleotide reductase from Chinese hamster ovary cells have been investigated. Double reciprocal plots of velocity against substrate concentration were found to be linear for three the substrates tested, and yielded apparent Km values of 0.12 mM for CDP, 0.14 mM for ADP and 0.026 mM for GDP. Hydroxyurea, a potent inhibitor of ribonucleotide reduction, was tested against varying concentrations of ribonucleotide substrates and inhibited the enzyme activity in an uncompetitive fashion. Intercept replots were linear and exhibited Ki values for hydroxyurea of 0.08 mM for CDP reduction, 0.13 mM for ADP reduction and 0.07 mM for GDP reduction. Guanazole, another inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, interacted with the enzyme in a similar manner to hydroxyurea showing an uncompetitive pattern of inhibition with CDP reduction and yielding a Ki value of 0.57 mM. Partially purified ribonucleotide reductase from hydroxyurea-resistant cells was compared to enzyme activity from wild type cells. Significant differences were observed in the hydroxyurea Ki values with the three ribonucleotide substrates that were tested. Also, CDP reductase activity from the drug-resistant cells yielded a significantly higher Ki value for guanazole inhibition than the wild type activity. The properties of partially purified ribonucleotide reductase from a somatic cell hybrid constructed from wild type and hydroxyurea-resistant cells was also examined. The Ki value for hydroxyurea inhibition of CDP reductase was intermediate between the Ki values of the parental lines and indicated a codominant expression of hydroxyurea-resistance at the enzyme level. The most logical explanation for these results is that the mutant cells contain a structurally altered ribonucleotide reductase whose activity is less sensitive to inhibition by hydroxyurea or guanazole.

Independent fluctuations of cytidine and adenosine diphosphate reductase activities in cultured Chinese hamster fibroblasts

The activities of CDP and ADP reductases were determined throughout the cell cycle of Chinese hamster fibroblasts synchronized by partial deprivation of isoleucine. Both enzyme activities were increased in S phase as compared to G1 phase. CDP reductase increased about 8-fold while ADP reductase increased about 2.5-fold. The ratio of CDP to ADP reductase was 0.26 at the G1 and early S phases of the cell cycle; the ratio was increased to 0.83 by late S phase. Addition of actinomycin D or cycloheximide to cell cultures in G1 phase prevented the increase of both CDP and ADP reductases activities in the latter part of the cell cycle, but the ratio of the two activities was not affected. The ratio of CDP to ADP reductase activities varied from 0.8 to 3 in different populations of exponentially growing DON cells. These results show that CDP and ADP reductase activities vary independently in growing cells. The independent variation with cell growth of CDP and ADP reductases suggests important individual functions of the deoxynucleotides during the cell cycle apart from their common role as precursors of DNA synthesis.