Poly (adnenosine diphosphoribose) synthase activity of isolated nuclei of normal and leukemic leukocytes

Poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) (ADPR) synthase activities of nuclei isolated from normal human and leukemic leukocytes were assayed by incubation with radioactive NAD+. The synthase activity of leukemic leukocyte nuclei was significantly higher than that of normal leukocyte nuclei. The average length of polymers formed by isolated leukemic nuclei under the prescribed experimental condition ranged from 3.1 to 5.3 ADPR residues per chain, while those produced by normal leukocytes nuclei was 1.7 and 2.6 residues per chain. Isolated leukemic and normal leukocyte nuclei were incubated with and without NAD+ and the ability to carry out DNA synthesis was measured. The endogenous DNA synthesis of NAD-treated and untreated nuclei was the same. This finding parallels the result obtained with Novikoff hepatoma cell nuclei and differs from the observation with rat liver or testis nuclei.