In vitro and in vivo antileukemic effect of novel dimers consisting of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine and arabinofuranosylcytosine

Various amphiphilic heterodinucleoside phosphates containing 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (5-FdUrd) have recently been synthesized in order to increase the efficacy of ara-C and 5-FdUrd. Employing growth inhibition and growth recovery assays, we evaluated the in vitro effects of four of these dimers (No. 2, 2A, 3, 10) in L1210 and P388D1 murine leukemia cells. Although ara-C and 5-FdUrd appeared equimolar in all dimers, their contribution to the cytotoxicity of these agents was different. Thus, the liberation of ara-C and 5-FdUrd from their dimeric origin and their subsequent metabolic activation had a different course. In another set of experiments, we examined the in vivo effects of these agents in mice. The dimer with the highest cytotoxicity in vitro exerted the lowest acute toxicity and yielded the lowest therapeutic effect in vivo. The obtained data indicate that dimers with slower liberation of ara-C and 5-FdUrd were less cytotoxic, but prolonged liberation of both antimetabolites protected them from inactivation and extended the time period of therapeutic action. Some of the dimers exceeded the synergistic effects yielded by simultaneous application of both ara-C and 5-FdUrd. The significantly higher therapeutic potential of these new antitumor agents indicates that further studies are warranted.