The effect of adriamycin on the cell cycle traverse of a human lymphoid cell line

The kinetic response of a human lymphoma cell line to adriamycin was analyzed by means of pulse cytophotometry. Depending on concentration and exposure time, cell cycle progression was delayed in G1, S, and G2 phases. There was a differential sensitivity for the interaction of adriamycin with the transit through these phases. G2 arrest could be induced by low concentrations of adriamycin, whereas the block in G1 was exerted only after long-term treatment with high concentrations and was completely reversible after drug removal. Delay in S-phase transit was transient in spite of continuous exposure to high concentrations of adriamycin. Thus, concentration and duration of treatment determined the magnitude of G2 arrest as well as onset and rate of G2 accumulation due to progression delay in G1 and S phases. Cell age had only little influence on the degree of subsequent G2 arrest. Irreversibility of the G2 block strongly suggests eventual cell death in G2 phase, which may be utilized as a predictive test for response to adriamycin in vivo.